Practice makes perfect
for Jags field hockey team
By Mike White
Staff Writer
JACKSON — The Jackson High School field hockey team spends a lot of practice time working on scoring off penalty corners. Coach Lori Johnson feels it is a good opportunity to get shots on goal. And with the Lady Jaguars struggling to score this season, the more shots targeted on net, the better.
Jackson made the most of a penalty corner in a 2-0 shutout victory of Brick Township last week in a Shore Conference A South game.
The Jags notched a first-half goal off a penalty corner to take an early lead. Jackson then combined a second-half tally with a good defensive effort to win its third game of the season.
With the victory, Jackson improves to 3-5-1 overall. It marks the second time this season the Jags defeated Brick, which fell to 1-6-1.
"We had spent a good portion of practice a few days before that game working specifically on scoring off a penalty corner," Johnson said. "It’s been a long time since we scored off that play. But we set it up nice, and the kids executed to give us an early lead. I think that score gave us momentum for the rest of the game."
Sophomore Ashley Iannone cashed in on the penalty corner to give Jackson an early lead. Iannone slammed home a shot past the Brick goalie at the 15:29 mark. Jennifer Wigglesworth and Lindsay Specht assisted on the score. Iannone now has three goals on the season.
"We feel that every corner should produce some kind of shot on goal," Johnson said. "It finally clicked in that game. Penalty corners are a big part of field hockey. You need to take advantage if you expect the better teams."
Senior Danielle Gressey provided the insurance goal in the second half. Lindsay Mulcahy and Wigglesworth assisted on the score.
Gressey is one of Jackson’s key offensive players.
"She is an extremely aggressive player," Johnson said. "She is determined when she goes to the cage. She is big, fast, strong and has a good shot. She gives a lot of defenses problems."
Jackson Goalie Sarah Kahle made seven saves. Jackson outshot Brick by a 12-9 margin.
"Sarah had a good game for us," Johnson said. "The strength of our team has been at the defensive end this season. We’d still like to be scoring more goals. The kids are working hard at the offensive end. We need to get a few more shots on goal."
Jackson squares off against Toms River East today and Brick Memorial Saturday.
"They’ll be a couple of tough games," Johnson said. "Both teams are well-coached, and can be aggressive. We need to limit their scoring opportunities and take advantage in the offensive end. I think we can be very competitive in both matchups."