CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On Wednesday, Sept. 16, John Jay traveled to Lakeland and faced the titans of Section One field hockey. Not so far off themselves, the Wolves gave the perennial powerhouse all they could handle — almost.
After Lakeland jumped out to a 2-0 first-half lead, John Jay answered in the third to live up to the hype. A razor-thin difference had the teams battling to the end, where the outcome meant the Hornets did their usual number on the Wolves.
They started with pressure early. Off a whistle at the 13-minute mark and John Jay efforts to clear, the Hornets maintained possession, and Annabelle Straley slid right around the defense. With some space, the forward teed off, and McKenzie Ryder had the kick at 11:30.
Not good enough to leave the zone, Lakeland had their first penalty corner. Around the horn, Aditi Parambath wound up, and her deafening projectile smacked the side of the box.
John Jay finally controlled, but not for long. Meaghan Heyde stole at midfield, and her stick work produced another penalty corner. Gianna Santini received the entry pass, assisted right, and Parambath made good this time on her windmill.
In the box at 8:23, Lakeland didn’t let up. Parambath’s free shot up the field put the Hornets on the swarm again. Heyde took the cue, swung away from the 25, but Ryder’s kicker was there.
Three penalty corners later, John Jay got a brief respite. Caitlin Brennan took the free shot, but Lakeland was still in no giving mood. They had the ball back soon enough, and the Hornets’ offense was the best defense for another two minutes.
At 2:45, the Wolves got the chance to get on their horse. Sophia Shaw advanced the ball to Callan Keeley, and reaching the goal line forced Jay’s first penalty corner. Unable to capitalize, the 1-0 score carried over.
Onto the second, play initially went end to end. First, Kendal Williams reached the John Jay goal line, and back the other way, Sophia Shaw stick-handled the sidelines to the Hornet edge. Fin Degl swung the entry, but Keeley’s backhand swipe chipped wide at 12:39.
Lakeland responded by maintaining possession the other way. Heyde got all the way down before being turned back by Ryder at 9:30, and keeping control, Gabriella Goldstein took an interior pass that again put Ryder on alert.
The shot going wide left didn’t put off the Hornet attack. They continued to hem Jay in until Keeley got a sideline steal. She passed to Degl in open space, and Shaw shot at 4:49.
Stopped in front, the defense gathered on the inbound, and the Hornets took offensive flight. Heyde in the cockpit, she raced up the field and found Allie Waters. On the right, the freshman reached the crease and forced a penalty corner.
Selena Vazquez received, wound up, and her shot deflected off a Jay stick. The bounce went to Goldstein, and she snuck it past Ryder at 3:21.
A big climb for the Wolves that nearly became a mountain. With the clock striking 0:00, Lakeland drew a penalty shot, and Santini lined up seven yards out. A little lift by Santini, Ryder got a stick on it, and the game was still in reach.
After intermission, Lakeland maintained possession until Keeley stole the ball just past midfield and forced a free shot for Degl. At 11:25, she passed back into the middle, where the ball deflected back to Keeley. In front, the senior could not get enough wood on the ball, and Lakeland regained possession.
On the break, Santini steamed ahead until Cait Brennan stole the ball and got her team going. Keeley then won the sideline, traversed the goal line and put the ball in front. Same result: John Jay could not connect at 10:45.
So Lakeland took their turn. Off the strong defensive work of Parambath, Lakeland reached the zone and forced Ryder to make a pair of saves at 8:27.
They gave the John Jay goalie more work to do a few minutes later. On Santini’s left-side swipe, Ryder split and legged a kick save.
At 4:47, the Jay offense galloped on the momentum. Off a sideline free shot, Shaw took control upfield, flipped to Keeley in the middle, where her tip deflected right for a shot on goal. A rebound resulted, and Keeley was there for the empty-net tip-in at 4:09.
At 2-1, a chance to tie came at the end of the third. Degl’s free shot at the 35 bounced off a few sticks and received a kick-out from Olivia O’Connor to close the period.
No time to spare, the Wolves got right to work. Off the opening free shot, Degl stopped Parambath’s blast ahead, found Jemma Thomas on the right, and she dished forward to Keeley. Onto the goal line, Lakeland’s defense still held.
The teams then traded possession between the 20s for the next few minutes until Lakeland forced a penalty corner at 11:15. In and around, the ball came to Parambath on the left, and her big blast deflected off Cait Brennan’s stick.
Ninety seconds later, Santini got a pretty good lift, too. She stole the Wolves’ advance upfield, stick-handled through and took a falling backhanded swipe just wide.
The ball went to John Jay, possession exchanged back to Lakeland, and that had Keeley stepping in again. She picked off Lakeland’s advance, traversed the sideline and got the ball inside to Shaw. Unfortunately, Lakeland won the interior scrum, and only 8:40 remained.
Keeley wasn’t done, either. On a free Lakeland shot at 6:55, the forward got her handle on the ball, took off and then led Shaw. Onto the goal line, more excitement followed, but the Lakeland defense converged for the clear.
Moments later, Shaw forced another penalty corner. Unfortunately, the cross pass hopped over Thomas’ stick, and the last best chance had Jay settling for a hard-fought loss.
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