Havre de Grace opens field hockey playoffs with 8-0 win

Havre de Grace sophomore Bailey Swart scored three times and assisted on three other Warrior goals Tuesday to lead Havre de Grace to an 8-0 win over visiting Joppatowne in an Class 1A North first round playoff game.

“For us it's been kind of wins late in the season, so they've kind of been going off the momentum of those, coming into today’s game,” Warriors coach Rebecca Rogers said. “Really, their skills have just improved throughout the season and I think that’s where we're at to be able to score those so early on. It definitely helped them be more motivated."

The Warriors (3-10), who beat Joppatowne (0-9), 4-0, just six days earlier, scored early to set the tone.

Gwen DeLeva opened the scoring just over two minutes into the game with an assist from Swart.

34 seconds later it was Jules Eder who took advantage of another Swart assist to make it 2-0.

Despite constant pressure and numerous corner opportunities (18 for the game), it took a while for Havre de Grace to get another shot past Joppatowne senior keeper Logan Clark.

Clark, a very energized goalie, turned away a number of shots, but Swart was able to slip a pair of goals by her over a :50 span. That gave the Warriors a 4-0 halftime lead.

"My girls work very, very hard and we work as a team,” Swart said. “We talk and communicate, we cheer each other on and it's really nice to have a team that backs you up. No matter what you do, or how many goals you score, or if you don't score at all, so we managed to pull through with a strong win.”

It was Swart’s third and final goal that opened second half scoring with 26:32 to play and creating the running clock.

The Warriors added to the lead two minutes later with Peyton DeLeva scoring unassisted.

Swart’s third assist resulted in a Sidra Wheeler goal. Swart played a feed from the right that was deflected in front of the goal. Wheeler got her stick on the ball and into the goal.

Eder scored the final goal unassisted. She hit a low, hard shot that caught part of Clark’s goalie pads, but the ball found its way into the goal anyway.

Clark finished with 16 saves in the lopsided loss and was very upbeat despite the outcome in her final game. “It's kind of nerve-wracking, but honestly, if I'm just playing with my team, then I’m having a good time,” Clark said. “It doesn’t matter if we win or lose, cause in my heart every game I win, because I make good saves, even though they had few on me, I still make good saves.”

Havre de Grace goalie, freshman Zehra Easakhi, made one save.

Havre de Grace will play at Harford Tech (9-2) in Thursday’s next round. Game time is 6:30 p.m.

Also in 1A North, Fallston (1-8) is scheduled to play at Patterson Mill (6-7) on Thursday at a time to be determined.

In 2A North, North Harford (11-1) drew a pair of byes and the Hawks will be in action Monday. The Rising Sun (4-8)-North East (5-5) winner will visit the Hawks on Monday.

In 3A North, four Harford teams will meet in a pair of games Thursday. Edgewood (6-6) will visit C. Milton Wright (10-1) at 5:15 p.m., while Aberdeen (6-6) will play at Bel Air (8-2) at 7 p.m.. The winners will meet on Monday.