The Cicero-North Syracuse field hockey team went through a rough stretch last week, losing one-goal games to fellow Salt City Athletic Conference foes Baldwinsville and Fayetteville-Manlius.
The host Northstars gained some revenge with a 2-1 victory over F-M on Tuesday. Cicero-North Syracuse got goals from freshman Nicole Conklin and sophomore Sophia Melfi, the second coming with four minutes left in the third quarter for a 2-0 lead. Nora Wilson cut the deficit in half with a goal in the third period for the Hornets, but the Northstars defense held strong in fourth quarter for the win.
After the win, we asked Northstars coach Patrick Kennedy some questions:
Q. After one-goal losses to Baldwinsville and F-M, how important was this win for your team?
A. This game against F-M was very important for us tonight. If we lose, we fall very far behind the rest of the league. If we win, we feel that we are right back in the hunt and remain in striking distance of Baldwinsville, who is currently in first place. We played well in both of our one-goal losses but unfortunately came up a little short in the scoring column.
Q. C-NS got its goals from freshman Nicole Conklin and sophomore Sophia Melfi, both their first goals of the season. Can you tell me a little bit about both?
A. Nicole and Sophia both stepped up when we needed them to tonight. They both have been working extremely hard this season and it was great to see them both score for us tonight. Sophia and Nicole have both played multiple positions for us this year and they have totally bought into doing whatever it takes to help the team.
Q. Did the Hornets do something specific to keep Christina Wagner off the scoreboard today?
A. F-M has a great team overall and a very solid defensive unit. They are very hard to score on and you always know you are in for a fight when you play them. F-M made it hard for Chrissy Wagner to get off high-quality shots tonight by sending multiple players at her. Chrissy is a tough competitor, and I am really glad that she plays for us. Her high level of play allowed the rest of her teammates to get open looks throughout the game tonight.
Q. Anything else you would like to add?
A. As always, we focus on one game at a time and try not to get ahead of ourselves. Next up is ESM.
