The Faith Christian field hockey team gives the appearance of a veteran program.
Appearances can be deceiving.
The Lions are only in their second season of competition, but they certainly are proving they belong.
On Monday, host Faith shut out Bicentennial Athletic League foe Plumstead Christian, 10-0.
They got off to a bit of a slow start, netting one goal in the first quarter, but took a 3-0 lead into halftime and extended that to 8-0 by the end of the third quarter.
“We’re a very young team,” Faith junior forward Daniella Burns said. “We only have one senior (Melanie Brancheau). We’re still developing the team, but I see a lot potential here. A lot of our girls just started last year and have already skyrocketed in their skills.
“The first quarter was rough for us but we switched it around and things started to go our way. We didn’t go in thinking we were going to win but we had confidence. Now we have a lot of confidence for the rest of the season, but you still have to play like you’re an underdog.”
Freshman Cheyenne Greene led the Lions with five goals and two assists, while Amaly Klock had two goals and three assists, Burns scored a pair of goals and Ashlyn Bergey chipped in a single tally.
“It’s been going really well for me,” Greene said. “I love being with this team.”
Greene plays a key position, center midfield.
“I felt like I had to work hard and show them what I can do, but the team is so encouraging,” she said. “Now I get to be here and be a part of this team and it’s really exciting for me. I want to do what I can to help the team. We’re in a great position and I can’t wait to see what we can do.”
Five of Faith Christian’s goals were off penalty corners.
Faith Christian ended the game with 19 corners while surrendering two and held a 22-3 advantage in shots on goal. Lions’ goaltender Rylie Hetherington made three saves.
It was the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Faith Christian won the first game, 3-0, on Sept. 6.
The Lions are ranked first in District One Class A.
Last year, Faith reached the tournament and won its first game, bowing in the semifinals. It was a fine showing for a first-year program, but this year’s team hopes to go farther.
“We’re ranked first and there’s a little pressure just because we’re such a new team, but as we’re going forward, we’ve been scoring a lot more goals so that’s helped a lot,” said Klock, a junior forward. “I think to some extent pressure is a good thing because we’re setting high standards for ourselves.
“Looking ahead I feel good about the playoffs. We’re already playing so well as a team. We lost almost half of our girls from last year so we have a lot of new players and with how well we’re doing, I feel really good about us.”
Plumstead Christian is a young squad.
“It’s a regrowing year for us,” junior right midfielder Courtney Walbridge said. “We lost about six seniors from last year’s team. We’re all working really hard and I’m just so proud of all of us. We’re trying our best and playing our hardest every day.
“Faith is a really good team and we can learn from them. They have really good passing so that’s something we should work on improving. One thing we are good at is that we’re super encouraging to each other and we’re supportive of each other. I’m very excited to see what the rest of the season will be for us.”
Plumstead goaltender Alexis Giuliano made eight saves for the day while defender Leah Moore made two defensive saves and three stops inside the circle.
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