Coming off a 3-2 win in their season opener over Holy Cross on Thursday, the Pirates field hockey team had plenty of confidence when Riverside arrived for game two of the year on Saturday morning.
The Pirates got on the board first when SaraBeth Coyle hit paydirt at 26:49 in the first half.
“It was really exciting beating Holy Cross yesterday,” Coyle said. “We weren’t as pumped up coming out today as we were yesterday, but the goal was pretty good because that never happens for us. It was right off the first corner. It was exciting.”
The Pirates put the game out of reach with 11:42 left in the second half when Maura Tumelty put Cinnaminson up 2-0. Even with a little more than 11 minutes to go, the game felt over because of how well the Pirates defense played today, limiting Riverside’s chances.
“It was nice coming out, scoring off our first corner, it gave us confidence,” head coach Gina Quaranta said. “But, defenders just always gotta be consistent in always making sure that we are trying to keep the ball out of the circle and especially the defensive 25. We don’t want to give the opposition any chances or have any risks in front of our goal.”
Coyle noted that the team needs to keep improving on its passing before taking on Delran next week.
“Our big thing is passing up the field. We try to pass it a lot so the other team can’t catch up to us. We did that pretty well yesterday (Holy Cross) and today so we are going to try to keep doing that.”
Both Coyle and Quaranta spoke to the team’s energy this morning, which was lacking after a big win over Holy Cross.
“We discussed that next week we have a similar schedule, back-to-back games,” Quaranta said. “We came out yesterday super fired up and then today, not as intense. We want to come out for every single game with the same intensity no matter who we’re playing.”
The Pirates finished the game with 11 corners, spending a ton of time in Riverside’s circle.
“I love that the offense really worked to keep the ball in their offensive 25,” Quaranta said. “I ask that they keep the ball in the offensive circle as much as possible. To get the corners is great and to have the offensive opportunities in the circle really speaks a lot for our offense and our middies.”
The Pirates take the field again on Wednesday, September 16 at 3:45pm when they visit Delran.
