RHS hopes to regroup after tough week

By: Sean Moylan
   Statistically, the Robbinsville High School field hockey team dominated almost every area of its last two games. Nonetheless, both Steinert and Hamilton found ways of scoring clutch goals to walk away with victories against the Ravens.
   Steinert beat Robbinsville, 2-0, on September 26 despite the fact that the Ravens took 20 shots while the Spartans shot only 10 times. Yet, Robbinsville head coach Judy Goldstein has been around the sport of field hockey long enough to know the Spartans’ win was hardly a fluke.
   "The Steinert game was a physical one. You look at them compared to us and we’re skilled but we’re still like the little sister," noted Goldstein, whose Ravens could not match the Spartans’ physical size and strength. "They (Steinert) had dynamite drives."
   Even so, Robbinsville had enough scoring chances in the game’s final 10 minutes to give Steinert a little scare. According to Goldstein the loss of Christie Wham for the second game in a row really hurt. Wham is the heart and soul of Robbinsville’s defense and she often helps set up plays from the back with teammates Marissa Clark and Kate Connelly. As for Robbinsville’s goalie Megan Leach, she played well and allowed the two goals on bullet shots off of corners.
   With Wham back in the lineup for last Thursday’s home game versus Hamilton, Robbinsville’s great defense was extra stingy. Unfortunately, Hamilton did just enough to scrape out a 1-0 win.
   " They didn’t get past my defenders and they had only two corners. They had one shot on goal and we had 13. We worked really hard but it was not meant to be," said Golstein. "But it was a good goal. This (Hamilton) team was big. It’s a lot more aggressive at the varsity level.
   "We played well against Hamilton and we were in there competing. But if you can’t put the ball in the goal, you can’t win. The score shows the winner of the game. We need to see (and show) that we’re worthy (of winning)."
   Goldstein gave Hamilton goalie Ashley Swain a lot of credit for making 12 stops in the contest. Hamilton was able to win on a second-half tally as it saw a rare opening and took it.
   "We didn’t lose that game the other team won it," said Goldstein, who would love to see her team begin to steal away wins. "There was a man there from US Field Hockey, he was impressed with our talent but he told us the ball needs to go in the goal."
   For the Ravens that means getting more aggressive offensively while taking quality shots on goal. "Sometimes winning isn’t just about the game. It’s about what they learn from the experience and what they take for their lives," said Goldstein, whose team never gives up regardless of the score. "My girls, they play with heart and courage every game."
   The talent is there for the Ravens to beat most of the "big sisters" of this world, they just need to channel that talent into goals.
   Robbinsville (3-5) was scheduled at West Windsor-Plainsboro North this past Tuesday. Robbinsville is scheduled to host Nottingham today (Thursday). It is scheduled at Princeton Day School on Friday. It is scheduled to host Pennington on Monday. Robbinsville is scheduled at Hightstown next Tuesday.