NEWBURYPORT – A double-overtime upset scare in the Div. 2 first round gave the ninth-seeded Reading field hockey team a bit of a wakeup call.
Four days later, the Rockets (12-5-3) answered it in the second round, powering through the high intensity of a 3-2 win over No. 8 Newburyport Wednesday night in a matchup between two of Div. 2’s strongest sleepers.
Reading scored three straight times in response to an early deficit, while the defense produced a revolving door of signature defensive plays to stave off a fiery Clippers (15-4-1) rally in the fourth quarter.
Seniors Kendall Graves (goal, assist) and Sarah Hamilton (nine saves) were right in the middle of the win, though it took everyone to advance to the program’s fifth straight state quarterfinal appearance.
Reading will play No. 1 Hingham on Saturday at 2 p.m.
“I’m so proud of them,” said Rockets head coach Delaney Yule. “We definitely had a rocky game in our first round, going into double overtime. … They just played phenomenal from top to bottom (this time). I think everyone’s team defense was incredible, our passing was there, and it was just very smart field hockey the whole time.”
“We all were there for each other,” Graves added. “The defense was composed the whole time, but the forwards brought the momentum and energy – especially (senior Dani Bowers).”
Teams traded possessions deep into attacking territory right away, though Newburyport seemed to do more with its chances in the first quarter. Sophomore Meri Boelke found space and fired a goal for a 1-0 lead, contributing to a 4-0 shots on goal advantage 15 minutes in.
Olivia Kreuz, Rachel Casson and midfielder Riley Lombard did well to help Newburyport limit what Bowers could do on the attacking end in the meantime, despite several promising transitions she anchored. But Reading dialed up its execution in the second, and its first corner set up Graves for a hard drive and a 1-1 equalizer with 4:03 left in the half.
“We gain so much momentum after we score,” Graves said. “If we’re down one and we come back, we just have so much energy and we lift each other up – especially (senior Leah Jackvony), she lifts us all up and helps us a lot.”
Momentum took a major shift after the break, as the Rockets’ midfield prevented many transitions into their defensive territory while the attack generated four corners in the third quarter.
The last of them was a Graves smash toward the net late in the frame, which freshman Maddie Rodgers redirected in for a 2-1 lead.
“When we get corners, we take the momentum of the game,” Yule said. “If we can do that, then we’re possessing and that’s all the time that they don’t have the ball. I think that helped us mentally.”
It also helps to have the UNH-bound Graves leading the effort. Her two drives on the corners played a scoring role in taking the lead, but her defensive play to limit the best of Newburyport’s potent attack rounded out a major impact.
“She’s a phenomenal player,” Yule said. “She just is the anchor whether we’re on offense or defense, and I think she controls and sets the tempo. And everybody just feeds off of her. … She definitely had a big role in this win.”
Bowers added to the scoring party with 13:43 left in what proved to be the game-winner, though defense throughout was just as impactful.
Hamilton anchored it with signature saves across both halves. That included a stick save to deflect a shot off the post in the first quarter, a diving save out of the cage on a breakaway in the second, a highlight-reel split-save at the left corner of the cage right before the half, and a five-save fourth quarter.
“She was a brick wall,” Graves said. “Her communication was key, telling us what to do. But she also had crucial saves.”
The Clippers’ comeback threats in that fourth were relentless.
Reading responded to most, with several players around Graves securing key takeaways, or deflecting passes to slow down the attack. Liza O’Brien and Jackvony played exceptionally well on that front, including O’Brien’s defensive save on a corner early in the frame.
Newburyport’s Olivia Wilson and Riley Lombard executed a crafty give-and-go on another corner for Lombard to cut the deficit with 7:05 left. The Clippers didn’t slow down until the final two minutes, when Reading finally carried possession beyond the 50 to seal the win.
“Everyone just took (Graves’) composure and then replicated that,” Yule said. “Our defense was very strong and stable. … And the defense even starts with our forwards, their pressure down the field. I always tell them defense wins games no matter where you are, and I think that’s going to be our mentality as we go forward.”
