Cosmos double up on Ws

The Springfield boys soccer team has been looking for its first victory while the Cosmos' field hockey team has been searching for a way to get back into the win column. Playing on fields adjacent to one another, both squads were successful Tuesday as the boys won a double overtime thriller and the ladies found their scoring niche.

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2016-09-21 / Sports Print article Print Cosmos double up on Ws «» View full-size Springfield’s Karlee Brown (left) battles Montpelier’s Amber Pagani for the ball during Tuesday’s game. — TIM TAYLOR http://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprFH-Brown.JPGhttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprFH-Schoff.JPGhttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprBS-Benson_0.jpghttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprBS-9.JPG By TIM TAYLOR sports@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield boys soccer team has been looking for its first victory while the Cosmos' field hockey team has been searching for a way to get back into the win column. Playing on fields adjacent to one another, both squads were successful Tuesday as the boys won a double overtime thriller and the ladies found their scoring niche. Field Hockey Springfield 5, Montpelier 0 The Cosmos cranked out 11 goals in their season opener, but the offense had been deadly silent since then. Springfield was the victim of shutouts in its last three outings, albeit one was an exciting 1-0 loss to defending VPA Division 3 state champion Bellows Falls. The scoreboard would not elude the Cosmos this time around, however, as McKenna Goodrich found the back of the cage less than seven minutes in. And Springfield rolled from there. “It feels good and it's what they need,” said Springfield co-head coach Kelly DeAngelis, “and I just want to make it more steady than an up-and-down, the high of Bellows Falls, and then we hit a low. I want it to be that steady. Let's do it all the time.” “We have really focused these last, maybe two to three practices on moving the ball up the field and how to make those good connections which we saw today,” added co-head coach Lyndsie Perkins, “but it's something that we need to continue to work on, not only throughout this week, but throughout the season. Looking back on the past three years that we've coached, it's something that we continue to have a hard time with, is really finishing in the circle. We can get close, but then it won't go in, and so I think it's something we really need to work very hard on and be very explicit of what we expect out of them in a particular situation. They're definitely working on it, which is good.” Goodrich's first of three goals on the day, which came at 23:01, was assisted by Ericka Schoff and Ashleay Wilcox. Springfield would continue to pepper Montpelier goalkeeper Emily Bashara with shot after shot for nearly 16 minutes after that. Bashara was up to the challenge, holding the Cosmos at bay before Goodrich would light up the scoreboard again, this time from a yard out in heavy traffic. The assist went to Emily Therrien. Hailey Perham would join the scoring fray with 1:21 remaining in the first half, banging one home from four yards away to give the Cosmos a 3-0 halftime cushion. Emilia Battista recorded the assist on that one. Springfield had two other first-half goals waived off, one by Schoff at 11:57 was negated by a penalty. The other, which came during a penalty corner with about 30 ticks on the clock, was ruled no good after the referee determined the ball went out of bounds and was brought back into play. In the second half, the Cosmos picked up where they left off. Less than two minutes in, with 28:07 on the clock, Battista found an opening for an unassisted goal. Goodrich got her hat trick with 20:34 left in the game after Schoff worked the right side, pasta defender, and crossed the ball to Angelina Bigwood in front of the cage. Bigwood earned the assist on the play. The Cosmos haven't made any major adjustments to their lineup in an effort to swing the momentum, but there have been a few tweaks here and there. “We're kind of just trying to adapt one of our players that's always just key, has stuff going on with her leg, so she didn't play today, and we just kind of adapted,” DeAngelis said. “We made some slight position changes, nothing massive, but some slight position changes which I think has worked well for us, so we'll see how it works moving forward,” Perkins said. The Cosmos (2-3) will host Fair Haven (0-3) Saturday at 10 a.m. Boys Soccer Springfield 1, Fair Haven 0 (2OT) The Cosmos and Slaters have been two of the hard-luck teams in VPA Division 2, coming in with 0-4 and 0-5 records, respectively. Neither was going to go down in this clash without a fight. And it showed as both sides battled furiously into the 92nd minute. Garrett Benson lifted a crossing shot into the right corner of the net at 8:35 of the second extra session and the celebration was on. Dakota Bushey received the assist on the game-winner. “We needed that. We needed that. We needed a little confidence,” said Springfield coach Kate Moriglioni. “This is a huge confidence booster for us, absolutely. After coming off a losing season, this is huge. This is our time now. We're taking it back. This is huge.” The goal was also a little bit of sweet justice for missed opportunities for the duo earlier in the contest. Around the five-minute mark of regulation, Bushey moved inside the 18 and fired off a shot from just to the right of the goal, but the ball sailed over the crossbar. He would get another opportunity for heroics with 7:44 left in the first overtime when he attempted a right-to-left pass over the goal mouth to Tristian St. Cyr for what looked to be a header attempt, but Slaters keeper Codie Bergantino made a leaping grab. Benson drilled a line drive at the goal with 2:18 left in regulation, but the hard shot went directly to Bergantino. The Cosmos had several opportunities earlier in the game, keeping the ball almost exclusively in the Fair Haven end for the first 10 minutes of play. The Slaters would even the playing field at times, but most of the possession time belonged to Springfield, especially in the overtimes. “We have been working on positivity, we have been working on teamwork and today showed it,” Moriglioni said. “We came together as a team and we wanted it. From the minute we stepped on the field, they earned it. They worked.” Fair Haven's best chance for a win in the final minutes of regulation, with just over seven minutes to play, was denied by a leaping block from Cosmos keeper Andrew Towne on a corner kick. Springfield (1-4) hosts Otter Valley (1-4) Saturday at 11 a.m.