Rivalry and sports have always gone hand in hand, which is no different for the Forest Hills girls varsity field hockey team. On Tuesday, the girls went up against their biggest season rival, East Grand Rapids, and won 3-2.

The girls played against East Grand Rapids earlier in the season and lost 8-2, but they kept their heads held high. They didn’t let that loss bring them down, leading to their striving for this win. The girls went into the game more motivated than in any other game they have had this season, and they knew that the only way to win was to leave everything on the field.

“We knew that this game was extremely important to us,” Maria Jacobs, a senior at Forest Hills Northern, said. “East Grand Rapids is the only team we’ve lost to.”

The girls went out strong in the first two quarters, but EGR went out stronger, leaving them at a disadvantage of 0-2. However, later in the second quarter, FHE junior Mia Dye got a goal that would change the mood for the rest of the game. After that goal, the girls started to find their grove, and Maria Jacobs proved that by scoring another goal in the second quarter, leaving the score at halftime 2-2.

Going into the third quarter, the girls knew that they had a shot to not only win against East Grand Rapids but win against the only team that was able to beat them this season so far. With this in mind, the girls went into the third quarter with more energy and fire than in the first half.

FHN senior Abby Almassian displayed this energy perfectly by scoring the third and final goal of the game. “I was super excited to get the score up,” Abby said. “I was so proud of our teamwork that led to all three goals.”

As the fourth quarter came around, the girls played the best they had the entire game. They went in the fourth quarter with a lead advantage, and they weren’t going to give that up easily. Although no goals were scored, they played their hearts out to ensure that East Grand Rapids never obtained the upper hand.

The girls won with a final score of 3-2, improving their record to 6-1-0. Even though the girls won the game they had wanted to win, it won’t stop them from winning more. The field hockey team will be playing their next game will be away against Detroit Country Day on Friday, September 16, at 6:30 p.m.

“I’m excited about our next game,” Maria said. “Usually, teams from Detroit are a lot harder, so we are excited to play hard and hopefully win some more!”