Patterson’s last-minute lightning lifts Springfield over Fair Haven

With only 23 seconds remaining, Nicole Patterson may have given the Cosmos’ field hockey offense the spark it has been desperately searching for, slamming home an exhilarating goal that vaporized a scoreless tie.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20141003/SPORTS02/710039922

Fair Haven’s Makayla Ferguson-Reid (13) slaps down a shot by Springfield’s Nicole Patterson in front of the goal during Thursday’s game in Fair Haven. Photo: Albert J. Marro / Staff PhotoPublished October 3, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Patterson’s last-minute lightning lifts Springfield over Fair Haven, 1-0 By JOHN SHRAMEK Staff Writer FAIR HAVEN – The 2014 season has been a constant struggle for Fair Haven and Springfield field hockey. But with 23 seconds remaining, Nicole Patterson may have given the Cosmos’ offense the spark it has been desperately searching for, slamming home an exhilarating goal that vaporized a scoreless tie and gave Springfield its second win with a 1-0 victory on Thursday. Patterson nabbed her goal on the team’s fourth corner in the final three minutes. The ball was sent to the top left of the circle where two Cosmos where stacked one behind the other. The first player stopped the ball dead in its tracks while the second scorched a shot at the far post. Along the way, the ball was deflected by a few legs and swatting sticks, bouncing to Patterson, who had been entrenched just a few yards out from the far post. She settled the bounding ball, pivoted and slung a powerful shot that echoed loudly off the backboard, being outdone in noise only by shouts of Springfield’s players as Patterson took a couple of joyous hops into the net to retrieve the ball. “I’m just so pumped,” Patterson said as she fidgeted with excitement. “I didn’t want to go into overtime. It is so much work, so I knew I had to score.” In a season that hasn’t seen many goals in the Cosmos favor, four goals in nine games, Patterson believes this score is exactly what the team has been searching for to put it on the right track for the final portion of the regular season. “I think we need to work on coming out stronger and harder, and I think that this win will really push us to come out for the entire game,” Patterson said. Facing a Fair Haven team that only has two goals this season and hadn’t since Sept. 10, the Cosmos seemed hungry for a lead in the early going as they dominated possession. The Slaters defense performed admirably as it turned away plenty of advances at the edge of the circle, limiting Springfield’s shots on goal to eight overall. Fair Haven struggled, though, to transition the ball up to its forwards as there seemed to be a disconnect that bunched the team and slowed the advancement at the center line. “We seemed out of sync and I think it was hurting us in getting some support,” Fair Haven coach Tosh Stickney said. “I spoke to them about it at halftime, but that hurt us a lot in the first half.” The Slaters had the defense to weather the miscues until the offense got on the same page. Goalkeeper Jenna Alexander (seven saves) had a great game for Fair Haven even if she didn’t face too many shots in the first 50 minutes. She displayed a great confidence in her abilities and looked sharp as she picked the perfect opportunities to come out of goal and crush a clear with her pads. “Throughout the entire game she is communicating with her team and keeping track of the ball,” Stickney said. “I realize that last one went in, but they had a lot of chances to score more.” Kaitlyn Pellerin, the team’s last line of defense before Alexander, also looked to be at the top of her game, shutting down a fair amount of Springfield breakaways. The Slaters strung some good passes together in the second half and made plenty of moves down field. They just could never find the right combination in the circle to beat Springfield keeper Anna Parker (three saves) and her equally stringent defensive line. Even though her team didn’t nail down its first win of the season, Stickney felt like she could leave the field happy with the effort and chances. “I know by score we lost, but I’m very proud of the way my team played,” Stickney said. “We’ve had times where we didn’t pull together as a team, but we looked like a team today. We didn’t really lose today in my heart, not with the way we played today.” The Cosmos now have two wins, both against Fair Haven, and after a stretch of three games where the Cosmos had only allowed three goals prior to Thursday, this win may accentuate a turning point in Springfield’s season. “I’m hoping it sparks us,” Springfield coach Lyndsie Perkins said. “Our biggest problem is getting the ball fluidly up the field and it looked better today. We need to just keep reminding them of what we did here.” The Cosmos, 2-7-1, will look to build off of this momentum when they face Woodstock next week. Fair Haven, 0-9-1, travels to Windsor on Tuesday.