LEOMINSTER — The Leominster field hockey team continued to roll on Wednesday night.
The Blue Devils made it six straight victories to open the 2022 campaign, cruising to a 4-1 triumph over Westboro under the lights of Doyle Field.
Leominster is now 6-0 overall and has outscored its opponents a combined 25-3 in six games.
“Westboro is a very good team, give our girls a lot of credit. These girls are buying in. They put in the work during the summer when they weren’t with me and now they’re doing the work 10 times more when they are with me,” said Blue Devils head coach Kate Phillips. “I have confidence in this team from top to bottom. I know I can put anyone in there at any time and there’s no significant drop in the level of play.
“We have goals and things that we want to accomplish and we take things game by game. It’s about us playing well and doing the things that we need to stay focused on what’s and who is in front of us. This is a big win against a strong team.”
Following a scoreless first quarter, Leominster drew first blood late in the second quarter when Taylor Boulay beat Westboro goalie Rebecca Frogel (16 saves) with a scoring bid with 1:35 left to give Leominster a 1-0 lead. The goal was assisted by Emma Miller-Ayala.
The Blue Devils carried their one-goal advantage into the second half when Gabby Santucci doubled the hosts’ lead with a goal 2:29 into the stanza to make it 2-0.
The Rangers (3-3-1) answered later in the third quarter when Cayla Ehrlich cut the deficit in half with a goal when she beat Leominster net minder Kailyn Cuddahy (four saves) with a shot from inside the circle to make it 2-1 with 3:26 showing on the clock.
“When they cut it to 2-1, I was sweating a little bit but it was a phenomenal goal they scored on that play so tip your cap to them over there on the Westboro side,” said Phillips. “I thought we did a nice job defensively on that possession, Westboro just kept battling. After that goal I thought our kids showed a lot of resiliency. We always talk about the game never being over and we needed to bounce back and the kids did just that.”
With Leominster clinging to its 2-1 lead entering the final 15 minutes of action, the hosts proved to be unfazed as they stayed on the attack. The Blue Devils tallied a pair of crucial insurance goals in the fourth quarter.
Miller-Ayala made it a 3-1 score with a breakaway goal with 6:15 left before Alana Marchetti put the game on ice when she potted…
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