The Beacon and Mariner field hockey teams met on the turf of Champions Stadium Nov. 1 for a spirited and intense game that was abounding with back-and-forth, end-to-end action. When the final whistle blew, the Mariner Vikings were cheered as 3-1 victors.
Mariner scored first on a blast by seventh-grader McKenna Boyle off a pass by Reagan Ciabattoni. Beacon tied the game on a tally by Noelle Sabbagh off a penalty corner.
Just a few minutes after her goal, Sabbagh took an unintentional stick to the face, and she was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Boyle struck again, scoring her 21st goal of the season off an assist from Kelly Bragg. Ryelee Lynch added an insurance goal off an assist by Mackinzie Brown to move the score to 3-1.
“It was a fun game,” said Mariner coach Lyn Shoop. “Cape is going to be very strong with these girls. They all have different roles, and everybody has a certain job they do, and they all do it so well. And when they come together as a team, it’s just beautiful to see.”
Shoop was quick to give kudos to her team leaders.
“McKenna [Boyle] is a big scorer for us,” Shoop said. “Reagan [Ciabattoni] is absolutely the leader and backbone of our team in all respects.”
“I’m really excited about playing with these [Beacon] girls next year,” said Ciabattoni. “Our team has grown so much this year. I’m excited about the seventh-graders for next year.”
“I think we played really well,” said Beacon’s Ella Rishko. “We picked it up after Noelle’s injury. Mariner is a really good team, but we tried our best.”
“Tough game,” said Beacon head coach Dom Scott. “But I’m really proud of the girls pulling together after losing Noelle. I felt like they gave their all. They stayed mentally strong for the entire game. When we talked after the game, they felt really proud of each other and really proud to have played with each other.”
The B game found the Beacon and Mariner future teammates playing to a 0-0 tie.
Mariner finishes their season undefeated at 11-0 while Beacon ends their 2017 campaign at 5-2.