In past years, the varsity field hockey team has taken trips down to St. Louis to compete in the annual Gateway Field Hockey Tournament over Labor Day weekend. Due to COVID-19, the team has not made the trip in two years, leaving this year’s squad wanting to play for their teammates who did not get to go the last couple of years.
“Freshman year we did not play as good and I feel like we did not have as good of a bond as we do this year,” said senior Mollie Tubbs.
Led by captains, senior Allie Curry and senior Cameron Pluciennik, the team had high hopes for a great tournament. Having started this season more confident and stronger than the last the Sequoits are ready for some action.
With their first game at 9:40 pm on Friday night, the Sequoits decided to take advantage of the beautiful St. Louis city. Their stops included the St. Louis City Museum and Chesterfield Mall.
During their first game of the tournament, against St. Dominic, a team from Missouri, the Sequoits held their own. They stayed very offensively heavy in the brutal weather on some slick turf, and in the pouring rain. The Sequoits played hard and won 3-0,
The Sequoits came into day two with high energy, having their first game on AstroTurf. The slick surface did knock a few Sequoits down, but this did not stop the team from immediately taking the game and making it their own. They went on to eventually win 5-0, their second shutout of the weekend over Brookfield Academy of Wisconsin, and increasing their win streak to two.
“I think I only touched the ball three times,” Curry said. “I’m just so proud of our defense and offense for keeping the ball out of our half and keeping it on our opponent’s half.”
The third and final game would decide the winner of the tournament. The Sequoits were playing Mercy Academy from Kentucky. Mercy Academy’s tournament situation was 1-0-1, making this a must-win game for the Sequoits. The beginning of the game started off very slow. After recently finishing game two and having a quick turnaround to game three, it was not the team’s best start and they knew they had to step it up if they wanted to bring the trophy home.
The first goal of the game was not scored until the fourth quarter. The goal was scored by Pluciennik, who was able to quickly restore energy in the Sequoits for the last few minutes of the game. The Sequoits went on to score one more goal by junior Jazzy Fisher to end the game 2-0. After three shutout wins, the Sequoits have been crowned the champions of the 24th annual gateway classic tournament.
“I have a really good push pass that allows us to be able to use each other more, and I have my team open up the field so we can get it up really fast and all push towards the goal,” Pluciennik said.
With Pluciennik’s excellent push pass it showed just how much the game changed when they could keep the ball in the offensive half. This allowed the team to shoot on the cage more often and take control of the game.
As the team recorded increases to a 5-2 record, they have definitely found more confidence for the rest of the season and will not shy away from being a top team in the state this year.
