Greg Kaplowitz Photos
Clockwise from left, John Jay field hockey players had a lot to celebrate last week, including this goal against Rye. Kaycie Keeley fires a shot for a goal. Finja Degl (left) and Kaycie Keeley (right) chase after loose ball in win over Rye.
By JIM MACLEAN
John Jay has had a very successful field hockey program under head coach Debbi Walsh, but the Wolves have always had one problem. No matter how good they are, their nemesis Lakeland has always stood in their way. That is no surprise; Lakeland field hockey has been the nemesis for many teams in Section 1 and all around New York state. Lakeland has won 15-straight Section 1 titles and 10 state titles.
In fact, John Jay, like most teams in Section 1, had never beaten Lakeland.
Until Saturday, as John Jay finally accomplished what no other John Jay team has been able to do, traveling to Lakeland on Sept. 28, and coming home with a 1-0 victory.
With that victory, John Jay remained undefeated on the season improving to 8-0-1 overall as the Wolves also scored shutout wins over Rye and Somers for a perfect week.
However, it was the historic win over Lakeland that stands out for John Jay. For the seniors on the roster like goalie Molly Gallagher, it was a long time coming as they finally got the chance to experience a win over Lakeland. Gallagher certainly did her part, coming up with 13 saves in goal for the shutout win.
“Since kindergarten I’ve been playing field hockey watching the older girls at John Jay, so for me this was so amazing,” admitted Gallagher. “It means so much, we’ve been fighting to beat them for a long time and a lot of people for years before us. We’re just happy we were able to do it as a team for our program to say that we were finally able to beat them. It’s always fun to play teams like Lakeland, you try to go out there and have fun, do your best and leave it all out there. It’s stressful, but I live for those moments, and when that final whistle sounded I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe we just did this’ — an amazing moment for our team and our program.”
Senior captain Jane Brennan has been a four-year starter on varsity, and she knows how important that victory was for the program. The seniors were there when John Jay tied Lakeland in their freshman season, the first time the program had not lost to Lakeland, and now they have a historic win on the record.
“We tied them my freshman year, so to be part of that moment and finally beat them was really special,” explained Brennan, one of the anchors on defense in front of Gallagher. “Our team is such a supportive unit and we all got back on defense. Especially the corners, they had 19 of them, that was tough, but we really stuck together as a unit. We were super excited, but we know we can’t celebrate because we’re playing them again in a week and hope to see them again in the playoffs, but it was definitely a confidence booster.”
The Wolves got the job done on offense with sophomore Sophia Shaw scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal off an assist from senior captain Kaycie Keeley.
After the goal it was up to Gallagher and the defense with Brennan and senior Kayla Magier leading the way as Lakeland applied the pressure, but the Wolves held on for the win.
“Lakeland does not lie down, they were fighting to the last second and our defense came up big, Molly had an unbelievable game,” John Jay coach Debbie Walsh said. “Jojo Degl and Jane Brennan are our four-year starters and they are always there for us with leadership. An opportunity in the circle is rare against Lakeland, and Kaycie sent in a nice ball and Sophia was in the right place to tap it in, absolutely the biggest goal of her career so far. Not too many people can even score a goal against Lakeland. To win a game against them, you’ll always remember that moment, but we see them again in seven days and they’re going to come out with a vengeance.”
John Jay followed up the win over Lakeland with an 8-0 win on the road at Somers Oct. 1. Logan Bueti had a big game with a hat trick, scoring three goals and assisting on another. Catherine Natko scored two goals. Jojo Degl scored a goal and had two assists. Shaw and Magier each scored a goal.
Prior to the Lakeland game, John Jay had a big win over Rye at home as the Wolves shutout the Garnets 3-0. Bueti, Magier and Shaw each scored a goal, with Jane Brennan and Keeley each recording an assist. Gallagher made two saves in goal for the shutout.
“We can be thrilled to cross this off the list to just once beat Lakeland, now the girls believe they can do it, but this is short-lived,” Walsh added. “We see them again and our schedule is packed, we have Greeley, Rye, Yorktown and Mamaroneck, all tough games, and we just hope our schedule is preparing us for the playoffs.”
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