The Richard Montgomery field hockey team suffered a 2-0 loss at its third annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game against Winston Churchill High School, on the night of Thursday, October 8. Both goals were scored early in the first half. Fortunately, the Rockets maintained high intensity and momentum throughout the second half,  preventing the Bulldogs from scoring more.

“We started off a little flat-footed and a little slow; and Churchill took advantage of that,” said senior captain Sarah Morgan. Throughout the first half, the team struggled with maintaining possession, allowing Churchill to break down their defense twice. “We were a little disjointed,” said senior captain Devon Goetz, “and that’s where we kind of fell behind them.”

However, the Rockets truly stepped up their game in the second half and allowed no other goals to be scored. Honorable mentions for defense include senior Nicole Cunningham’s swift saves and goalie Morgan’s strong kicks, propelling the ball out of the circle. On the offense, Goetz’s powerful drives sent the ball up the field allowing for breakaways by senior Alison Berman and junior Vanessa Barnes.

There was wide consensus within the group that the performance for the first half could have been better.  “We are a second half team, we really want to work on bringing that strength into the first half,” said sophomore Lizzie Kinnard. Cunningham added, “We always push really hard in the second half, but  we need to work on our mental game in the first half.”

Regardless of the score, the game was considered a success as its main purpose was to raise awareness and support for breast cancer. Both teams donned outfits with pink embellishments incorporated in the design to support the cause. The RM field hockey team sponsored a bake sale held during the game, from which all proceeds were donated to the Hope Connection for Cancer Support. As juniors Zaynah Moen and Reet Goraya put it, “It’s important to think pink and stick it to breast cancer.”