Wednesday, October 19, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Sophie Brun scored to break the ice and Dwight-Englewood went on to knock off Hackensack, 4-1, on Tuesday afternoon.

ENGLEWOOD – To say early on in the season that the Dwight-Englewood field hockey team was struggling offensively was an understatement to say the least. After being beaten in their first nine games and shutout in eight of those, the Lady Bulldogs’ uber-young squad grew increasingly frustrated with not being able to put the ball in the back of the cage. The first of those shutouts was a 2-0 loss to Hackensack on Opening Day in a game the Bulldogs felt was there for the taking. When the Bulldogs got another crack at Hackensack on Tuesday, the offense broke out of its season-long slump with a long overdue outburst.

Sophie Brun and Anna Horowitz scored once in each half as Dwight-Englewood, which had only scored five goals on the season coming in, busted out in a 4-1 win over Hackensack at Graham Field on the campus of the Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood.

“We needed to win just like this and our offense finally clicked,” said Brun, one of only three seniors on the Dwight-Englewood roster. “Our passing has gotten so much better and because of that our confidence is rising.”

Hackensack had a chance to grab the lead early on when Allison Terracino raced past the defense for a breakaway. Dwight-Englewood freshman keeper Stasis Kuske alertly came off of her line to cut down the angle and make the save. That became a huge play as the Bulldogs took the lead off of a penalty corner a few minutes later.

Hackensack's Allison Terracino scored to break up the shutout.

Brun’s corner skipped over a stick at the top of the circle, but Isabel Guerriero was there to back up the play. She sent the ball back into the circle and Sara Oliff kept the ball going back towards the original spot where the corner was taken. There was Brun all by herself to one-time a shot past Hackensack keeper Erielle Jiminez and in for a 1-0 lead just over 10 minutes in.

“It felt great to score, but it was more of a relief than anything else,” added Brun. “When we played Hackensack the first time we had a lot of chances early, but we just couldn’t score. It got harder and harder to score and then we ended up losing (2-0). Scoring first and scoring so early in the game gave us even more confidence to go out and do it again.”

Oliff was in the middle of another scramble in front touching the ball ahead to Horowitz. Her initial shot was saved, but the sophomore middie tucked home the rebound in the 19th minute to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 halftime lead.

Hackensack made a push to get back in the game in the first few minutes of the second half until another Dwight-Englewood goal grounded the Comets’ chances for a comeback.

Horowitz collected a long pass from Saundra Kornbluth and drilled it into the back of the cage just 4:49 into the second half for a 3-0 lead. Brun then capped the scoring with a scintillating run through the Hackensack defense.
The senior forward got the ball at midfield and used her speed to split two defenders. With Jiminez coming out to make a play, Brun ripped a shot from the top of the circle that bounced off the left post and in for a four-goal lead.

Anna Horowitz celebrating one of Dwight-Englewood's season-high four goals.

“This is definitely the most fun we’ve had all year and you could tell by how well we played,” said Oliff. “Our young players have improved so much throughout the year and we’re playing well together as a team lately. Getting the ball in the goal has been a big problem for us all year. To score four goals in a game is a huge game for us and it feels great to finally break out like this.”

The two goals by Horowitz were the first of her varsity career for Dwight-Englewood (3-11-1). The Bulldogs held a 10-3 advantage in corners and got six saves from Kuske.

Hackensack (3-13) averted a shutout with 3:25 to on a goal by Allison Terracino. Jiminez finished with 13 saves and Chelsea Finley assisted on the goal.

After a disastrous start to the season, Dwight-Englewood is now 3-2-1 in their last six games with the lone coming against Ramsey, which will play Northern Highlands for the Bergen County championship this weekend. With all but three players (Brun, Oliff, and Teddi Wolfer) returning next season, there is hope that the building blocks are in place for potential future runs in the Bergen County Tournament and a berth in the state tournament.

“Our seniors have been great leaders and our younger players are adapting to the speed of a varsity game quite well lately,” said Dwight-Englewood head coach Kim Franco. “We have gone through some growing pains this season, but now they are starting to pay off and we’re starting to see some success. To put four goals in today against a team that shut us out to start the season is a great feeling.”

FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.