Nicole Martocchio paces an attack during a win over Farmington.
By BRIAN JENNINGS
STAFF WRITER
After starting the season with a 1-4 record, the Lady Knight field hockey team has since come back to life. A winning triplet this past week has put them on the brink of qualifying for the Class L tournament for the first time since 2014. With four games remaining in the regular season, the girls need just one tie to clinch.
Southington coach Erin Luddy has had players like Molly Dobratz, Jessie Pesce, Nicky Martocchio, and Sydney Rice since they were sophomores. For them, Luddy said that qualifying for the state tournament would not only mean something to her seniors, but it would also mean something to the future of the program.
“They have yet to go to the tournament,” said Luddy. “Having that experience and having them there to experience this is a great thing for them and for the underclassmen to see…how much dedication to work they put in, and how you can succeed from that.”
Dobratz played for the first time this past week since she went down with an injury in the second game of the season. As was expected, her return to the turf was pivotal in the team’s three wins.
“Having Molly and Jessie as defensemen in synch again is great,” the coach said. “The two of them together are truly the voices back there. When one is missing, we always seem to be lacking because they feed off of each other and play so well together.”
The Knights will look to clinch a playoff berth this week when they travel to EO Smith (5-6) on Wednesday, Oct. 25 and divisional Newington (0-12-1) on Friday, Oct. 27. Rice is expected to return from her injury by the end of this week. Southington is currently 6-6.
Win vs. Windsor
OCT. 17—The Knights began the week by blanking Windsor, 7-0, at home on Tuesday. Southington held a slim 1-0 lead at halftime and exploded with six goals in the second half.
Alina Calderone marshaled the offense with a pair of goals. Southington took 15 shots on goal and nine penalty corners, holding Windsor to just three shots on goal. This was Dobratz’s first game back since she went down with an injury in the second game of the season.
Win at Wamogo
OCT. 18—The next day, the Knights earned their second-straight win with a 4-2 victory at nonconference Wamogo.
Martocchio scored the game’s first goal to give the Knights a 1-0 advantage midway through the first half. The Warriors knotted the score with a goal with a little over six minutes remaining in the half, until the Knights regained the lead for good on a pair of goals from Jenna Sheehan inside of three minutes remaining in the half. Dobratz assisted Sheehan on her first goal.
The Warriors came within a score on a goal less than nine minutes into the second half, but the Knights pulled away on a Lauren Graef goal a little over a minute later. Maddie Belfonti saved seven of Wamogo’s nine shots on goal. Southington took 22 shots on goal and six penalty corners.
Win vs. Farmington
OCT. 20—The Knights managed to get back to .500 for the first time this season since the opening week of play, wrapping up the week with their third-straight win and fourth shutout of the season with a 2-0 sweep of Farmington at home on Friday.
Brooke Lynch scored the game’s first goal less than three minutes into the game. Emma Angelillo capped off the victory with a goal on an assist from Martocchio with 35 seconds remaining in the half. Belfonti saved five of Farmington’s 10 shots on goal. Southington took seven shots on goal and nine penalty corners.
For this week’s box scores, click here: (southingtonobserver.com/2017/10/24/weekly-scoreboard-for-the-oct-27-edition). To contact sports writer Brian Jennings, email him at BJennings@SouthingtonObserver.com.