BY JOSH ABRAMS
(PHOTOS BY LENNIE MALMGREN FOR PSD)
Villanova, PA - Tuesday afternoon featured an encounter between the two top-ranked field hockey programs in the Inter-Academic League, as undefeated Academy of Notre Dame played host to visiting Agnes Irwin School, who was also seeking to keep their perfect league record intact.
The Irish prevailed by a score of 4-0 thanks to two goals from junior forward Maura Seeger. Notre Dame also received tallies from sophomore forwards Carina Demchyk and Maeve McGinley – the former getting the scoring started late in the first quarter while the latter helped pad the Irish’s lead early in the final frame.
This game could have very easily resulted in a much more lucrative finish in favor of the Irish – but Owls goaltender Sara Davis made sure ‘four’ was all that the opponent would score on her. Davis’ performance on Tuesday was beyond spectacular, throughout every quarter, and it allowed Agnes Irwin to stay in the game even as Notre Dame began to pull away late.
And it didn’t take long for her to realize how tall of a task she had to face in keeping Academy of Notre Dame’s offense contained. Within the first five minutes of the opening quarter, the Irish recorded eight penalty corners; all of which were fended off by Davis and/or her surrounding teammates.
Academy of Notre Dame's Maura Seeger extends Irish's lead to 3-0 in the third quarter with her second goal of the contest (Video by Josh Abrams of PSD)
Agnes Irwin GK Sara Davis save compilation; her stellar play in net kept the Owls close throughout the game (Video/Josh Abrams)
On the other side of the field, Academy of Notre Dame started sophomore Elanna Duff in net for the first half. While she did not rack up as many saves as Davis, Duff still had to stay on her toes on multiple occasions; especially in the first half when the game was still within just a couple goals.
postgame interview with Maura Seeger after her two goals uplifted Academy of Notre Dame to victory over Agnes Irwin (Video/Josh Abrams)
Insurance for the Irish: ND's Maeve McGinley converts early fourth quarter penalty shot to extend her team's lead to 4-0 (Video/Josh Abrams)
Goalkeeper Elanna Duff started the 1st half and was key in keeping AIS off the board, including these two second-quarter saves (Video/Josh Abrams)
Seeger provided the second and third tallies of the contest for the Irish, and while she gets all of the glory for capping off the plays with goals, she selflessly understands what has to happen beforehand for her to get those opportunities.
"I was the one who finished it but (my teammates) are the ones who got me the ball," she said. "For (the first goal), it started on the right, and Carina was able to give it to me, I think she made the perfect pass and I was just there."
As the game continued, Academy of Notre Dame slowly but surely dominated the time of possession. Agnes Irwin's scoring chances dwindled as a result, making a three or four goal lead feel like much more than what it already was. Notre Dame certainly was not perfect on offense, but the fact they were starting to control the ball and keep it away from the Owls really seemed to tire out Agnes Irwin.
Make no mistake about it – the Irish are a force to be reckoned with under second-year head coach Brandi Ritz. In her inaugural season, she led the team to a 21-1 record which included an Inter-Ac and PAISAA championship, and so far they are picking up right where they left off (the most recent Max Field Hockey rankings put the Irish at #3 in the state of PA). It helps to have players like Seeger, who can be considered a veteran leader at this stage of her playing career.
"We're such a close team... we just know where (our teammates) are and we don't really have to say it to each other," said the junior.
With the win, Academy of Notre Dame improves to 10-1 overall on the season and maintains an unblemished league record of 4 wins, zero losses. They will look to keep it rolling at home against Springside Chestnut Hill on Friday at 3:45 PM. Agnes Irwin still boasts an impressive overall record at 9-3, despite sustaining their first league defeat to fall to 4-1 in Inter-Ac play. Much to their fortune, they get to close out their regular season – the last six games to be exact – on their home turf. The first affair of that stretch will be a non-conference showdown with Radnor on Saturday afternoon (2 PM)
