Eagle field hockey aims high

The Mt. Abe stickers’ first games of the season have been against teams in higher divisions.

“They have that bring-it-on mentality,” DeLorenzo said of her team.

There are plenty of games lined up the next few days.

Does winning foster team chemistry, or does team chemistry lead to winning? It’s a good question, and this past fall high school sports season helps to answer it.

Many members of the Otter Valley, Mount Abraham and Middlebury Union high school field hockey teams received postseason honors from either the Capital Division or the Southern Vermont League B Division.

The championship streak for one of college’s greatest dynasties ended on Sunday, when host Johns Hopkins defeated the Middlebury College field hockey team, 3-0, in an NCAA Division III quarterfinal. 

In a Division II field hockey semifinal game played in St. Johnsbury on Tuesday, No. 3 seed U-32 scored four unanswered goals in the first half on the way to a 5-2 victory over No. 2 Otter Valley.

A successful Mt. Abe field hockey season came to an end on Oct. 22, when visiting No. 7 seed Stowe upset the No. 2 Eagles in a Division III quarterfinal, 1-0, in a double-overtime marathon.

Top seed Bellows Falls defeated the MUHS field hockey team in an Oct. 24 Division II playoff quarterfinal, 7-0.

Otter Valley (11-3) in Division II and Mount Abraham (10-4) in D-III each received No. 2 seeds entering the playoffs, while Middlebury (2-10-1) in D-II received a No. 8 seed.

Mount Abraham won its only game this past week, while Middlebury earned a tie three times.

The MAUHS field hockey team won two games this past week, while the MUHS squad came up short.

The Mount Abraham and Middlebury union high school field hockey teams each split two games.

The Mount Abraham Union High School field hockey team picked up two recent shutout road victories, one at the expense of rival Middlebury.

Middlebury girls’ field hockey picked up its initial victory of the season, while Mount Abraham split two games.