November 2, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Norwood repeats as hockey champion
by TOM UTESCHER

Scoring less than seven minutes into last Friday’s Girls Catholic Academies League field hockey final, Norwood Fontbonne Academy made its lone goal hold up for a 1-0 victory over Gwynedd Mercy Elementary School.

With the successful outcome in the match, which was played at Rosemont College, the NFA Bears repeated as tournament champion and closed out their season with a 9-0 record against rival teams in the GCAL. Norwood’s overall tally of 17-1-1 included a loss to Germantown Academy which the Bears would avenge later on in a grade school tournament at GA. Norwood won that event, battling to a draw with Episcopal Academy along the way.

The regular-season match-up between NFA and Gwynedd had also ended in a 1-0 victory for the locals, who received their goal from eighth-grader Meredith Bracken. The Gwynedd Mustangs won all of their other league bouts to wind up 6-1, and in the GCAL semifinals they defeated Rosemont School of the Holy Child, 2-1, on the strength of goals by eighth-graders Mary Jo Horgan and Sarah Rocco.

In the other semifinal, Norwood went past fourth-seeded Villa Maria, 4-0, as eighth-grader Sally Anne Greenwood and seventh-grader Allie Sabia each deposited a pair of goals.

At Rosemont, chilly weather greeted the finalists, with an off-and-on drizzle serving as a harbinger of the downpours that would arrive that evening.

For the first five minutes or so, the play ranged between the scoring circles, then Norwood penetrated deeper into Mustang territory. Seventh-grader Ali Stever drove the ball from just above the top of the circle, and it caromed off the leg pads of Kat Matchett, Gwynedd’s eighth-grade goalie. Open in front of the cage, NFA eighth-grader Maggie Rush closed in on the rebound and knocked the ball into the goal six minutes and 21 seconds into the game.

Norwood was awarded a penalty corner five minutes later, but didn’t get off a shot on the play. At the other end, one shot by Gwynedd ran wide of the left post, and another was saved by NFA’s Alex Gilliam. Gilliam and Liz Maloney, who are both in eighth grade, split time in goal for the Bears. Maura Carroll, an eighth-grade forward for Gwynedd, carried the ball into the left side of the circle several times in the first half, but was stopped by the Norwood defense.

Each team came close to scoring during the first ten minutes of the second period. A strong shot from the right by Mustangs eighth grader Natalie Tacka zipped across the circle and just a little outside the left post of the Bears’ cage. Off a Norwood corner hit from the right endline, the ball came back down to the near post and Sabia tried to poke it over the goal line, but was denied by Gwynedd’s Matchett.

Eventually, time began to run out for the Mustangs. On Gwynedd corner plays with seven and three minutes remaining, there was no shot the first time, and on the second attempt Horgan fired just a little wide to the left.

With just over a minute to go, a long drive by Gwynedd from outside the 25 sent the ball barreling past several players from each team and in towards the Norwood goal. Maloney booted the ball away from the cage and defender Brooke Sabia (Allie’s twin sister) dribbled it out of the circle, ending the last serious threat from the Mustangs.