Concord field hockey continues to roll with win over Salem (video)

CONCORD - It would have been easy for the Concord High School field hockey team to come out flat for Tuesday's game against Salem.

The second day of back-to-back games, coming off a big win with a bigger matchup looming later in the week, the Crimson Tide may have been fatigued, but they didn't show it.

Concord put the pressure on Salem early and scored twice in an eight-minute span in the first half to get all the goals the Tide would need in a 2-0 victory over the Blue Devils in a Division I contest at Rollins Park.

Jordan Cromwell and Emma Beaujouan each had a goal for Concord (6-2) with Ally McGonigle getting an assist on both tallies, as the Tide won their fifth game in a row. Goalie Rhyden Weldon made two saves while Salem goalie Lyndsay Troisi made six saves.

"We were definitely tired, but they kept their heads in it," Concord coach Nicole Armaganian said. "I definitely appreciated their effort. We knew Salem has big hits and their fast. They can take it up the middle very well, so that was our concentration. I was happy that they were still able to move the ball to the sides."

Concord had six of its eight penalty corners in the first half, including four early in the first quarter, but didn't break through until Cromwell's goal with 4:57 left in the frame. On the goal, McGonigle took a pass from Sophia Branch across the circle and then fired a centering pass back, where Cromwell was standing to knock it in.

"We’ve been working in practice on getting (the ball) on to our strong side and going up and then crossing it in," Concord senior Andie Reed said. "I think we did that well (Tuesday) and just going to the ball. We need to be quicker and quicker going to the ball.

"We talked about the fact that we needed to be quicker to the ball and we knew they were going to have big hits. We needed to take it just as quick, if not faster than them, and I think we did a good job doing our game plan."

Cromwell helped set up the second goal, as she sent the ball into the circle and McGonigle was able to outrace Salem's defense to track it down. She fired a shot that hit off the pads of Troisi and landed right in front of Beaujouan, who buried the rebound.

"They were hungry," Armaganian said of her players. "They remained hungry in the circle. It was good to see. It doesn’t matter what position you are at that point. It doesn’t matter grade you are in at that point. Just be hungry and put the ball in the net."

The Tide had two more corners in the second quarter and had a pair of good scoring chances late, but couldn't add to the lead.

Despite not scoring, Reed was encouraged that the team didn't let up after going out in front.

"Thankfully we did not, because that’s happened in past games, where we feel like we’re set because we’re up some, and then it starts to hurt us," she said. "We didn’t comfortable and we kept playing hard, like we did in the first half."

Concord looked like it might take a three-goal lead late in the third quarter, but Troisi came way out in the circle to challenge Kayla Taylor and was able to keep the Tide from getting a shot off.

"Our goal was to not play ping pong with the goalie, to get it around her, but this goalie was good," Armaganian said. "She held her own. She was diving and we couldn’t get around her."

With wins over Pinkerton and Salem this week, the Tide turn their attention to another home game Thursday against Bedford (8-1).

"Pinkerton is awesome, so to beat them was a big deal for us," Armaganian said. "Let’s keep that momentum going. Now it’s concentrate and move on to Bedford. We know they are a formidable opponent."