St. Anne’s-Belfield’s field hockey squad just needed to finish.
“I felt like our passing was good, our movement was good, we just couldn’t put in the back of the net,” said Saints head coach Mary Blake.
The Saints got it going after the break though, and turned a halftime deadlock into a 5-1 victory over Covenant to complete a regular season sweep of the Eagles.
Mady Brayman notched a hat trick for the Saints (9-3, 5-0 LIS), both on assists from Kaitlin Reese. Brayman proved an adept finisher throughout, getting the STAB offense going in a big way after the break.
“I thought Maddy stepped it up,” Blake said. “The whole team did in the second half.”
It didn’t hurt that the Saints got a little more creative too though. STAB started changing up its attack and moving the ball a little less predictably.
“We changed what we were doing and instead of taking down the sideline and sending it over we’d send it over at the 40-yardline and catch them off guard,” Blake said. “I think that’s what made a difference.”
Catherine Towers and Lauren Gampper also had goals for the Saints while Morgan Woodrow and Blissie Dubose notched an assist each.
The Eagles’ lone goal came late in the first half when Virginia Dittmar broke through. Covenant struggled to build on the momentum though as STAB got into a rhythm shortly after the break.
“I’m not entirely sure what happened in the second half,” Covenant coach Katie Lavie said. “I think in the first half we’d improved a lot (over the first meeting). Things got rough and people got tired and with no subs that’s bound to happen.”
The Eagles will try and bounce back against Williamsburg Christian Thursday at home at 4:30 p.m.
STAB takes on St. Margaret’s Tuesday at 4:30 before a showdown with fellow local power Western Albemarle at 5 p.m. Friday.
