MONUMENT – With everything a position battle when it comes to getting to the postseason, No. 5 Palmer Ridge field hockey doesn’t want to take a chance with a slow start in any game.
On Wednesday night, just as it is every game night, the Bears had one big task at hand. Get the ball in the net early and set the tone for the remainder of the game. The first goal came pretty quick. Then a second came. Then a third.
When it was all over, the Bears (6-1-2 overall) rolled to a 6-0 win over Smoky Hill at Don Breese Stadium.
Even with six goals getting scored, there is no underselling just how important the first was, especially with every regular season game meaning just a bit more than the previous one.
“That was one of our big goals early in the game, go out and score early,” junior midfielder Laine Satterlee said. “We had to make good, smart passes and get up the field and I think that gave us some motivation for the game to just keep going.”
Satterlee was the one who netted the first goal just over three minutes into the game. It seemed to lift a weight off the Bears shoulders as the offense looked in sync and more shots made their way into the net. Hannah Hermann and Juliana Strickling each added a pair of goals before time eventually ran out. Hannah Miller was the fourth Bear to score in the course of the 60 minutes of regulation.
Perhaps what’s even more impressive was that the relentless offensive attack also served as the best defense. The Buffaloes struggled to get the ball into the Palmer Ridge zone and even when they did, they couldn’t get a shot on the net.
“Defensively, if we’re shutting down their attackers it gives our attack and midfield the confidence to keep pushing the ball forward,” coach Mallory Cuccio said. “We can rely on (the defense) and they’ll get the ball up. And we need to support the defense by scoring those goals.”
A couple of the goals even came from the defenders. Hermann took advantage of the Bears’ ability to push the possession deep into the Smoky Hill zone and make her way into a scoring position.
She capitalized on two shots and gave the team even more confidence in their play with goals getting scored from the back end of the field as well as the attackers.
“It lifts us up as a team,” Hermann said. “Sometimes we just have those days when we’re not working together. When we’re able to do that, it makes us a better team all the way around.”
The Bears have a tough challenge ahead as they’ll see No. 10 Liberty on Tuesday.