In a defense-driven battle, the varsity field hockey team (13-3) fell to the Canyon Crest Academy Ravens (8-5-1) on Friday night. 

Before the whistle, the Falcons celebrated Senior Night, honoring nine seniors: Stella Philips (12), Sophie Bryson (12), Amelia Simmonds (12), Piper Fortuna (12), Morgan Christie (12), Marlo Roberts (12), Kara Dunlop (12), Bridget Kenney (12) and Greta Rucks (12).

Heading into the game, the Falcons played with confidence, dribbling the ball forward with passion while maintaining energetic communication on the field, amplified by cheers from the sidelines and the crowd.

Energy from the crowd of supporters, made up by friends and family, allowed the Falcons to be dilated in on the field.

The Falcons and Ravens battled back and forth for the first four 15-minute quarters, coming close to scoring a goal, but ultimately, no total points were scored. Comparatively, the Ravens were not able to put the ball away.  

While the Falcons kept offense strong, consistently coming close to the shooting circle, they were yet constantly stopped by the Ravens, who held a strong defensive front against the powerful strikes and attacks.

By the fourth quarter, neither team made goals, leaving the score at 0-0. The game went into overtime, giving both sides a chance to score in only 10 minutes with seven people on the field. However, overtime resulted in no shots being made.

As a result, the teams went into shootouts, facing off five players from each side in a face-off against the opposing goalkeeper one-on-one to try and score a goal in eight seconds. 

“We wanted to stay calm and composed,” Morgan Christie (12), varsity captain, defender and midfielder, said.

Shootouts resulted in 2-1, and the Ravens took the win. Key player Christie reflected on the game, setting aside the difficulty of the loss and tuning in on the team’s performance.

“We were really strong offensively and had the ball up the entire time, so it was definitely a struggle,” Christie said. “We kept trying and we got some corners. A loss is just motivation, and it leads us to improvement.”

Somewhere along the way, the lights supporting the stadium cut out, leading to a shock both in the crowd and on the field. However, both teams remained calm and collected, prioritizing their strategy on the field.

“We were really focused on going out and attacking,” Stella Philips (12), forward, said. “We got a lot of chances in the circle and we really wanted to come out strong and execute, as it was Senior Night.”

Philips focuses on how the team will be able to become a stronger front despite the loss.

“Every team has to go through a loss; it sucks that it was on Senior Night,” Phillips said. “We can come back stronger and learn from the game.”

Although the loss was quite heavy on each player, due to the excitement coming off of Senior Night, fueled the team’s drive to win the next time around. 

A common phrase on the court, repeated by coaches and players, was “don’t hold anything for granted.” This is exemplary of the situation, as going into the game, the Falcons were ranked higher in the Avocado League and had already come off a win against the Ravens (3-1) on Sept. 20.

“We just learned that you can’t take any game for granted,” Courtney Kun, varsity head coach, said. “As we prepare for playoffs and continue the rest of our season, we will grow and make the most of every opportunity.”

Kun described the overall strategies in the game and how the team adjusted over the course of it.

“[From the beginning, the strategy] was to come out with a lot of high energy and excitement to capitalize on Senior Night,” Kun said. “As we were missing some opportunities [to score], we decided to push more people onto attack to combat their heavy defense structure.”

Kun emphasized that the team lacked recovery in their performance.

“We struggled on to capitalize on our corners and tipping in rebounds, finishing in the cage,” Kun said. “We had a lot of shots that didn’t finish.”

Although losing on special occasions such as Senior Night is a heavy circumstance, the team can look towards the stands, which are packed with friends, relatives, parents and siblings, ultimately all cheering on the girls on the field and the tight-knit community.

Now the Ravens are ranked first in the Avocado league, aside from the Falcons being ranked third.

Moving forward into the rest of the reasons, the Falcons are ready to reinstate their name and regain their Avocado League standing. Fans wait to see if the tables will turn in the Falcons’ favor when facing the Ravens again on Oct. 29.