By: Josh Abrams
Photos/Videos: Josh Abrams & Kathy Leister
Philadelphia, PA - Academy of Notre Dame (ND) traveled to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH) on a lovely, gorgeous Thursday afternoon, as two Inter-Ac juggernauts clashed.
The result ended in a 6-0 victory for the Fighting Irish over the hosting Blue Devils. Academy of Notre Dame scored three goals in each half en route to their fifth league victory and perfect conference record. Senior captain Saylor Milone recorded a hat-trick for the game, while fellow senior captain Reese Czajkowski and sophomores Maura Seeger and Kiera Sack also added tallies.
Academy of Notre Dame vs. Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. (Photos/ Kathy Leister for PSD)
The first goal of the game belonged to the offensive-minded Milone. She received a pass a few yards before midfield and took the rest of it from there. After reversing field and attacking towards the middle, the senior put on a masterclass display of stickhandling and maneuvering, and the fleet-footed forward fired her shot into the goal.
Notre Dame kept applying pressure on the Blue Devils early and often, and shortly after Milone’s goal, Seeger doubled the visitors lead. The Fighting Irish converted a penalty corner opportunity; Seeger inbounded, Milone took the initial shot which hit off Casey McCormick’s stick, but the freshman was able to deflect the ball to Seeger who finished the play.
Notre Dame senior captain Saylor Milone gets scoring started early for Fighting Irish (Video/Josh Abrams)
Notre Dame sophomore Maura Seeger doubles The Fighting Irish's lead in First Quarter. (Video/Josh Abrams)
Czajkowski’s mark (off assist from Sack) with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half extended her team’s lead to 3-0 which held firm going into halftime.
Notre Dame senior captain Saylor Milone on what is going well for the team so far (Video/Josh Abrams)
2Q scoring opportunity for vigourous SCH Offense.(Video/Josh Abrams)
Sack wasted little time helping build on the Fighting Irish’s lead, as she found the back of the net just under four minutes into the third quarter. The sophomore held the fort down for Notre Dame, especially because SCH tried to make other players besides Milone beat them.
The senior leader made sure to not let her rather-quiet first half affect how she would play the rest of the way.
“I only had one goal in the first half,” Milone said. “And then in the second half I think myself and my teammates started to make adjustments based on (SCH goalie Colleen Conlan’s) saves on the initial shots, and noticing where she was going.”
Her two second-half goals, one in the third and fourth quarters, gave her a coveted hat trick. More importantly, it solidified a Notre Dame victory that puts the Fighting Irish at 5-0 in the conference.
Though flawless in Inter-Ac play, Milone more-than realizes neither she nor her teammates could afford to take any opponent lightly; including a SCH squad looking to play upset on their home turf.
Sophomore Kiera Sack extends ND's lead to 4-0 (Video/Josh Abrams)
Milone's second goal of game puts ND ahead 5-0 (Video/Josh Abrams)
“We haven’t come into any game this season thinking it was going to be easy,” said the senior leader. “And I think that mentality of looking at everything as a challenge has helped us a lot to stay in the game, stay focused and keep coming every quarter.”
Junior defender Helen Coogan elaborated on how the team didn’t get too far ahead of themselves in terms of overlooking Springside Chestnut Hill.
“I feel like our coach (first year HC Brandi Ritz) makes us focus on the basics of the game… and then see what we can do,” said Coogan. “During practice we always focus on what went wrong in the game and what we did well. We wanted to make sure our passes were good and, most importantly, hustle to every ball. If there’s a 50/50 ball, we’re trying to get there as soon as possible.”
Winning tends to make things a lot easier for any program, but Ritz, who is in her inaugural season at the helm for ND Field Hockey, knows it takes more than just her for such success to come to fruition.
“I’m proud of them (the kids),” Ritz said. “I may seem a little bit tough on the sidelines but you have to push them… I’m proud of the way they treat each other, the way that they play, and at the end of the day if it comes out with a win, as long as we’re playing good hockey I’m proud of it.”
Notre Dame junior Helen Coogan on how the team remains sharp and focused (Video/Josh Abrams)
Postgame interview with SCH senior captain Madison Freeman (Video/Josh Abrams)
Academy of Notre Dame gets a few days off before traveling yet again, this time to Hill School on Wednesday. Springside Chestnut Hill Academy looks to bounce back on Thursday when they hit the road to Mt. Saint Joseph’s Academy.