Varsity Field Hockey lost 2-1 to Saratoga High School on Monday, Oct. 10. MVHS and SHS each scored a goal by the end of the first half. However, SHS took the lead with a goal in the third quarter. Even with a few offensive pushes, MVHS was unable to score another goal, losing the game 2-1.
Junior and midfielder Indu Devakonda attributes the loss to a lack of communication. She says this is something the team will need to work on for its future games.
“We played super hard until the end and we used a lot of stuff that we learned in practice, like dodges,” Devakonda said. “But if we communicated more and made stronger passes, I think we could have definitely scored more goals. I think people just weren’t talking as much on the field. And since we were working so hard, [we were] getting more tired and were [unable] to tell people where they were.”
MVHS last played SHS on Sept. 13 and was unable to score a single goal, losing 1-0. However, senior and defender Alice Ross notes that this time, the team was able to learn and adapt to its opponents’ playstyle. She says that by using strategies like playing man to man, MVHS had more of a fighting chance.
“We had more pass interceptions [and] better passes ourselves,” Ross said. “We were able to stop them from coming down the field so easily.”
Ross also notes that MVHS is suffering from four player injuries, which might be affecting the team’s play. Head Coach Serena Yoo agrees with Ross and says the team had to play differently due to the number of injuries.
“We did not have ample subs to be playing with the leisure that we wanted,” Yoo said. “So we were playing smarter, instead of [just] running around a lot and playing hard. There were a lot of good carries towards the sideline, and that’s how we were able to send the ball multiple times and bring us to the other side of the cage.”
Overall, Yoo says the team needs to work on endurance, explaining that players had trouble keeping up with the pace of their opponents. Yoo also plans to focus more on strengthening the mentality of players during practices.
“[We] also just [need to keep] our mental intensity up,” Yoo said. “[Field hockey] is a very physical game, [and] because we’re down subs, it’s very mental as well. So even when the calls aren’t being [called] when they should be fouls, not getting stuck on that but continuing to push forward, that’s definitely something we’ll be working on for the rest of the [season].”
