John Jay field hockey blanks Pawling to kick off Labor Day weekend

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On Friday, September 4, John Jay began Labor Day weekend at Contest Field. Getting the scoreboard engaged took some time, though. The Wolves kept the ball in the Pawling zone, and the inevitable was no surprise.

The girls scored at 7:28 of the first and went on to an easy 5-0 victory.

In the zone most of the afternoon, dividends initially paid off for the club of Callen Keeley. The senior stick-handled her way through the Pawling defense, and upon hitting the goal line, she passed back to Sophia Shaw. On a platter, Shaw had an easy push and left no crumbs, scoring the first goal of the season.

Pawling did have a response and made its way into the John Jay zone. Not good enough. Briar Cindrich put a pause to it with her defense, and Cait Brennan did the rest. In front of the net, the lockdown defender slapped the ball out of the air, controlled it and got the Wolves galloping the other way. Taking the cue, Shaw got in deep, but her projectile was off with 40 seconds left in the first.

Onto the second, John Jay remained in control, and with seven minutes gone, the Wolves had their rhythm back. More like poetry, Degl stick-handled through a streak of Tigers, dished to Olivia Vosler, and Anna Kringas had the closing stanza at 7:27.

The crowd gasped at the collective work of art, but Degl wasn’t privy to the outburst. “I never hear the crowd,” the senior revealed.

No problem, she’s tuned to the on-field orchestra. “I love the triangles. That’s the most important part of the game and watching the ball move rather than our feet is so beautiful,” said the middie.

Degl wasn’t done, either. After Keeley drew a penalty corner on the goal line, Degl inbounded to Vosler, who passed over to Shaw.

Goal number two resulting, more was on the way, and unfortunately for Pawling, it was exactly like seeing double. Two times Keeley drove to the goal line, and while Pawling didn’t know what they were looking at, Kringas had clear tunnel vision. “We practiced it all day yesterday,” said the senior. With the defense drawn, Kringas received the passes and scored both times.

At 5-0, the running clock was engaged in the final minute of the half, and the rest was a labor of love for Vosler. “It feels great - especially for my first game on varsity,” she concluded.