Field HockeyThe pressure is really on the Lawrence High School field hockey team now.
By: Steve Feitl
A tough 2-1 loss to Hightstown on Tuesday left the Cardinals in a three-game sudden death situation as far as the state tournament goes.
With the Oct. 19 deadline for qualification to the tournament looming large, Lawrence stands at 4-6 with three games to play. To make the cut, teams need to be .500 or above, which means Lawrence has no room for error they need all three games.
But that is a daunting task for any team, so first-year coach Lauren Fares has her team taking it one game at a time.
"It’s hard to say we need the next three," she said. "That’s a lot of pressure. So we prefer to take it one game at a time."
On Friday, Lawrence had moved one step closer to a .500 record with a 3-1 victory over Hopewell Valley. Allie Gropp scored twice and Kathy Kotowski scored once on assists from Kelly Immordino and Liz Casale.
The Cardinals carried that momentum into the first half of Tuesday. Kotowski again scored this time on an assist from Gropp to give Lawrence the early 1-0 lead.
"I thought we played very well in the beginning of the game," Fares said.
But then the Cardinals were dealt a cruel blow when sweeper Diane Van Arsdale was hit in the chin, opening a gash that required 14 stitches to close. Van Arsdale had already been playing with a cast, covering a possibly broken hand.
With their starting sweeper out of the line-up, the Cardinals appeared to be a different team during the second half.
"We scored first, but we actually seemed to lose our momentum," Fares said. "I think that’s why we let the two goals in. When we started losing momentum, (Hightstown) started gaining it.
"I really don’t know what happened to us (Tuesday)."
But Fares is quite sure what needs to happen form this point forward if Lawrence has any postseason dreams.
Starting at 4 p.m. today (Thursday) at Allentown, the Cardinals need to be perfect in terms of wins and losses. After Allentown, the Cardinals host Nottingham next Monday at 3:45 p.m. and then travel for the rematch with Hightstown on Oct. 18.
Fares believes the Allentown game will be the true test for her team, though she remains positive that the Cardinals will persevere.
"We’ll regroup and refocus on what we have to do," Fares said. "I think the girls are up for it."

