Lawrence field hockey
By: John E. Powers
The Lawrence High School field hockey team has suffered through a tough season. But last Saturday, the Cardinals had one of those games where 5-9-2 records fade into a trivial afterthought.
The Cardinals, the No. 10 seed in the Mercer County Tournament, knocked off No. 7 seed Ewing 2-1 in double overtime, as junior forward Amy Wham scored 4:40 into sudden-death overtime. Wham was on the left post when she knocked home a rebound past goalie Marisa Sashleben for the game winner. Lauren Tracy earned the assist.
"I’m excited to finally get something going in our season," Lawrence coach Melissa Hanford said. "The girls have really worked hard this year. I couldn’t be happier for them."
Wham could have won the game with 1:07 left in regulation, but she couldn’t get her shot off.
"I think when she went to take the stroke, she froze, being nervous," Hanford said. "She looked like she was a little shaken up right before she went to take it. She’s awesome, and that’s why I let her take it. I wanted to give her the opportunity.
"I wasn’t surprised that she got redemption in overtime. She is usually where she is supposed to be, and she plays hard. I expected her to come back. Plus, she was aggravated that she didn’t make that stroke."
Goalie Christa Strobino stopped Kelly Jurczynski on a penalty stroke 39 seconds before Wham’s game winner. She had seven saves for the Cardinals. The Cardinals lost to No. 2 seed Stuart Country Day on Tuesday afternoon 4-0 and were eliminated from the tournament. Stuart beat the Cardinals 2-0 in the regular season.
"I thought we played one of our best games in the tournament against Stuart," Hanford said. "We had a scoreless first 17 minutes, and then they scored. The kids gave it everything they possibly could."
The Cardinals lost to Notre Dame 4-0 last Tuesday.
"They are pretty decent," Hanford said. "It was one of those games where nothing really went in our direction."