After the loss against East Grand Rapids, the varsity field hockey team had three days to prepare for the Ann Arbor Skyline Eagles. The team focused on defensive adjustments and overall communication among the defense. The defense was confident that it could slow down the Eagles’ offensive attack.

After a slow start, the Eagles broke the tie and scored the first goal of the game. As the game progressed, Ann Arbor Skyline continued to score, but that was not the whole story of the game. Two defensive players in Abby Almassian and Logan Kirkwood were assigned the Eagles’ two best players and slowed them down tremendously. As a whole, the defense played aggressively, stopping seven corner opportunities and great goalie play. Alayna Gschwind had over 30 saves while anchoring down the defense. Julia Brown and Sophie Hartl also played well defensively, winning the losses ball battle. Offensively, the group did not see the ball very often. The team struck out in its few attempts at shots on goal. A few goals on open attempts would have helped the outcome of the game, but would not have changed the outcome. Offensive players would pressure the Eagle’s attack at the middle of the field which helped the overall defensive play.  Unfortunately, the girls fell to the Eagles 8-0. 

Forest Hills now has a record of 2-4-1 after its second straight loss. The team takes on Dexter on September 23. Head coach Gabriella Coty had a good amount to say about the team’s next few practices.

“We have a few days to fix the small problems we have had. After a few days of consistently practicing hard, I feel we’ll be prepared to give Dexter all they can handle.”