The varsity field hockey team fell to the St. Francis High School Lancers yesterday, September 18. Even though the Eagles got a slow start, leaving the first half with the score at 0-6, the team was able to pull its defense together and only allowed one goal in the second half.

The Eagles got off to a tough start, quickly losing 2 goals to the Lancers within the first 10 minutes of the game. The Eagles then called a time-out but continued to fall behind in the first half as St. Francis’ strong offense kept the ball on the Eagles’ defensive half.

“[The] kids didn’t give up, didn’t quit,” coach Mary Donahue said. “They got better as the game went on.”

The Eagles pulled the defense together in the second half and succeeded in routing all but one of St. Francis’s attacks. They gained more control over the game and cracked through the Lancers’ defense a few times, gaining several opportunities to score. Nevertheless, the Eagles admit that they need more preparation before they face St. Francis again.

“We’re going to work on transition defense inside the 25,” Donahue said. “Because we got scored on about three times at a transition.”

Despite the team’s loss, the Eagles take from their first league game against the former CCS champions the knowledge of what they need to work on. Better transition defense and getting a better start will be central goals of the team this year.

With the first league game of the season against one of the toughest teams behind them, the team hopes to have a solid season this year. The next game is this Thursday, September 20, against Presentation High School.