MANCHESTER, NH – Up by one goal early in its most recent game, the Derryfield School field hockey team looked poised for a home upset over higher-ranked Pelham.
Two second-half goals from the visitors, however, sent the Cougars to a fifth-straight loss after beginning the season 3-1-2.
“I think we really let some of the external factors kind of get into our head,” said first-year Derryfield head coach Katie Bulk. “You know, we said it at the end there, some of the calls were perhaps not what we would have seen from our angle, which is fine, and then we had some rowdy (opposing parents), and you know, these are high school girls so you say something (negative) to them, they might be affected by that for a little bit, and that’s something we have to work on, but it’s tough when you’ve got adult men screaming at you from the sideline, so I think we probably let that into our head a little bit and had a bit of a letdown, which is where those goals came from and by the time we were able to shake it off, it was too late.”
Despite the frustrating 2-1 setback Thursday, which dropped the Cougars to 3-6-2, Bulk said she’s hopeful for a strong finish to the season.
“I think we had a really nice trajectory at the beginning of the season, but we hit some road bumps on the way – weather, changes of games, practices – so just trying to work out of our funk right now,” she said. “They’re doing a great job of being positive and focusing on the progress we’re having game-to-game.”
The team’s midfield – namely senior captain Kennedy Overhoff, Laurie Best, Chloe Bremberg and Bri Murray have done an excellent job setting the tone for the rest of the team this season, said Bulk.
“Really that whole midfield line has been putting in the work every single practice, every single game, both on the attacking side and on the defending side, so it’s nice to see some players really take leaps and strides with their skills and how they’re developing.”
The Cougars are scheduled to finish the regular season with three-straight road matches at 7-2-2 Souhegan, 4-7-1 Lebanon and 10-2 Kennett Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.
“We have a couple games left. so we’ll see how it goes, so hopefully they decide they want it and put in a 110 (percent) as we come to the close of our season here,” said Bulk. “I do expect we can be competitive these last couple games that we have.”
After that, anything can happen, she said.
“You know, even if we’re sliding into playoffs at a lower seed than we expected, it doesn’t really matter. We’ll continue to survive and advance,” said Bulk. “I expect them to come in each day with positive energy making sure we’re working on the things we need to work on. They’re a smart group so I expect them to work their hardest and close out the season the way they want it to.”