Reigning UCBAC field hockey champ and 1A state finalist Patterson Mill kicked off its Chesapeake (upper) Division schedule Wednesday afternoon, beating the visiting Bo Manor Eagles, 5-2.
"I threw in a lot of different players today, and everyone adjusted well," Huskies' head coach Shannon Troyer said after the game. "Our passing and transition game looked really good, so I'm pleased with that. We might have scored a couple more goals if we could have finished better, but that's something we'll be working on as the season moves. Honestly, I think we could have held them without a goal tonight if we'd done some other things better."
Emily Keesling was the driving force behind the Patterson Mill victory, finding the Bo Manor net three times for a hat trick.
Linnea Gonzalez had one goal and one assist in the victory. Christina Claypool also scored a goal for Patterson Mill.
The Huskies' Katie Meek and Lauren West each had an assist.
Patterson Mill goalie Maddie Hedrick picked up three saves.
"I don't think Bo Manor is as strong as they were last year," Troyer said. "Their goalie is very good, but they have some spots where they aren't as solid as in the past."
The Huskies, who edged out Fallston last year for the Chesapeake Division's top spot, then defeated North East in the Conference title game, are looking to repeat their 2010 performance. Their head coach thinks they have the talent to do so.
"I feel like, as a team, we're better, stronger than we were last year," Troyer said. "We are definitely a young team, with only two or three seniors in the starting lineup most games, but we're faster and our transitions are just as good. We can definitely score enough goals to win games, we just need to work on preventing goals. We can stay right up at the top like last year, there's just a couple kinks that need to be worked out along the way."
Fallston tops Bel Air
The Fallston Cougars began their 2011 Chesapeake Division campaign with an important victory Wednesday, beating the visiting Bel Air Bobcats, 4-2.
Danielle McDiarmid scored two goals to lead the winners, knocking in her tallies with the help of assists from Christina Wright and Lindsay Summer.
Jordan Wagner scored once for the Cougars, with McDiarmid providing the assist. Sami Carter had Fallston's other score on an unassisted goal.
Bel Air's goals came off the sticks of Taylor Burrier and Sarah Teesdale.
North Harford over North East
The North Harford Hawks came back from their Wednesday jaunt to Cecil County with a 3-1 Chesapeake Division win over the North East Indians.
Rebecca Rinaca, who fired in a pair of goals, led North Harford's offense. Audrey Byrd had the other goal for the Hawks.
The Hawks led, 2-1, at the half.
Cobras strike Mariners
The Harford Tech girls earned their first Susquehanna (lower) Division victory of the season as they dispatched the visiting Joppatowne Mariners, 6-1, Wednesday.
The halftime score was 4-0.
Katie Perzynski scored twice. Marissa Braungart had one goal and two assists. Lyndsey Endlich scored twice and handed out one assist for Harford Tech, while fellow Cobra Morgan Workman had a goal. Tyler Bethke had one assist for the Cobras.
In goal for Harford Tech, Taylor Bethke saved four shots.
Mustangs tame Maryvale
The C. Milton Wright Mustangs earned a non-division victory Wednesday, beating visiting Maryvale, 4-2.
CMW opened the scoring when Sabrina Rhodes scored a goal with an assist from Brooke Williams. Katie Gallagher later had an unassisted goal to give the Mustangs a 2-0 first-half lead.
Maryvale tied the game in the second half with a pair of tallies. The game-winning goal was scored by CMW's Sara Nolan, with the assist coming from Maggie Gallagher. Williams scored the Mustangs final goal unassisted.
Edgewood shut down
The Edgewood Rams were topped, 5-0, at home on Wednesday night by the Rising Sun Tigers in Susquehanna Division play.
The Rams trailed 3-0 at half-time.
Monica Attia had 12 saves in goal for Edgewood.
Warriors whitewashed
The Havre de Grace Warriors were beaten, 9-0, Wednesday by the Perryville Panthers in the first game of their Susquehanna Division schedule.