Field Hockey: Ossining Stands Out

After a six-day break, Ossining will be back in action when it travels just the down the road to Croton-Harmon at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12.

The Pride (7-1-4) will enter the game with plenty of momentum, after a huge 3-1 triumph against visiting Rye Neck Oct. 6.

“Yes, it was a really big game for us,” said Ossining senior co-captain and goalie Grace Lombardi, who made seven saves against Rye Neck. “They were in first in the league and beating them put us in first place so if we win the rest of our league games hopefully we will be league champs.”

The win wasn’t only important because of its significance in the standings, it was nice for the Pride to be able to enjoy the break in the schedule coming off a victory.

“It was important because we had a stretch of games that we wanted to end on a good note and definitely being such a big game we wanted to win it,” Lombardi said. “It just puts us with a better attitude going into this period of time off we have. We will be back on track when we get back, we won’t have any regrets because we know we have played our hearts out. The time in-between games will be a positive for us.”

What’s another positive for Ossining is having someone like junior co-captain and midfielder, Molly Malone, who was all-section a year ago. Malone showed that not only is she a scorer but she can also set up her teammates nicely, as she did against Rye Neck with three assists.

“Our forwards have gotten better as the season has gone on when it comes to finishing, which was one of our problems early on but now we have fixed that,” Malone said. “If I can just get the ball to them, they are going to finish.”

Three of the key forwards Malone was referring too are senior Zoe Fendrich, junior Alex Cristello and sophomore Abby Kamen.

“We have to continue to work together,” Malone said. “We have meshed really well from the beginning of the season. We just have to keep our eye on what we are aiming for and don’t forget where we want to go.”

Malone said what the team is aiming for in the short-term is a league championship and the long-term is advancing past the second or third round in the sectionals.

Defensively, Lombardi said that she has gotten help from her entire defense in front of her. Two of those teammates that have helped her out are seniors, co-captain and left defender Alison Corrigan and sweeper Jacqueline Lia.

Both have very strong sticks, according to Lombardi.

“They are good people to trust with the ball and they have a good sense of direction on the field, which is really helpful,” Lombardi said. “I would also say the same about our center (senior Taylor Hall) and other defender (junior Olivia MacDonald); all four of them keep as much balls as they can away from me. The bare minimum comes to me. I really count on them and appreciate what they do.”