Hollis Brookline field hockey makes first-half goal hold up in win over Goffstown (video)

HOLLIS - Sabrina Hill saw the ball coming her way and there was only one thing on her mind.

The Hollis Brookline High School field hockey junior was putting it in the cage.

Hill knocked a deflected crossing pass out of the air and into the goal, and the Cavaliers did enough on both ends of the field to keep Goffstown from tying it up, as HB survived Monday for a 1-0 win over the Grizzlies in a Division II contest.

"I didn’t see who crossed it in, but someone crossed it in and it hit another stick," Hill said. "It was in the air and I just tapped it. I kind of put my blinders on when I’m on the field, but when the ball comes out, I always put it in."

The goal came with 6:36 remaining in the first half, and knowing how stingy Goffstown's defense has been, HB coach Greg Cochrane felt fortunate to get it.

"We wanted to come out, score early," the coach said. "That’s a good defensive team with a very high-quality goalie who plays with a lot of confidence. Their team plays with a lot of fight, they’re well-coached, they know what they’re doing. They adapted and adjusted to our press."

On another rainy Monday afternoon, both sides felt they weren't at their best, as they battled through a scoreless second half.

"I thought they played hard," Goffstown coach Jess Brown said. "It was one of those games where we weren’t as crisp or sharp as we had been. It was just one of those days. They played hard every single time and they do commit to that intensity, but probably our finesse wasn’t as strong as we were hoping for."

The Grizzlies (3-3-1) got six saves from goalie Molly Braica, while the Cavs (3-2) also got six saves from goalie Rae Kline. Goffstown finished with two penalty corners and HB had just one.

"Under the circumstances and conditions, I’m sure both teams didn’t play their best," Cochrane said. "We try to execute to the best of our ability. We did that against a very well-coached, hungry team. We knew Goffstown was going to give us their best and we tried to match it with our best."

The goal seemed to give HB enough of a spark to keep Goffstown from getting much in the way of an opportunity for the rest of the first half.

"It definitely gave our team confidence, especially coming off a weekend," Hill said. "Sometimes we start off slow, but (Monday) it felt like we started off strong. Getting that goal gave us the opportunity to keep our strength up the whole game."

In the second half, long stretches of play went back and forth between the 25-yard lines, with each side occasionally getting the ball into the circle. But both defenses were able to recover quick and eliminate any threats.

"We could not quite get our transitions to flow the way we were hoping for and the way they have been," Brown said. "Defensively, we were able to keep them above the 25(-yard line), but we weren’t able to make those transitions into the circle. And when we did get into the circle, it wasn’t as dangerous as we wanted."

As the fourth quarter ticked away, the Grizzlies were able to put more pressure on the Cavs' defense, but every time it seemed Goffstown might have a chance, the ball went HB's way.

"Our defenders did a great job," Cochrane said. "They played their responsibilities very well. I have a group of five or six girls we rotate on defense, four of them being seniors. They’re well-drilled, they’re coachable players, so they stay within our system, and they do a great job. They don’t panic.

"We were just able to get that extra goal that they couldn’t finish on."