On Thursday, Sept. 22, the Wildcats field hockey team (4-1-1) lost their first game of the season to the BCC Barons (5-1) by a score of 4-1.
The game was tied at 0-0 going into halftime. BCC quickly scored a goal at the beginning of the third quarter to take a lead that they would not lose for the rest of the game. Senior captain and forward Abby Slack scored the Cats lone goal early in the fourth quarter.
“I think that even though we lost we played with our best game and I’m really proud of everyone for the hard work they put in,” Slack said.
While the defense stayed strong for the majority of the game, there were very few scoring opportunities for the Wildcats. Aside from Slack’s goal, the Barons defense was like a wall which was a major reason for the offensive struggles.
“We need to be more of a team. We need to be more connected because it was a bunch o
f individual players on the field tonight,” junior midfielder Lilly Delp said.
While the Cats lost on the field, they were able to raise a lot of money for the One Love Foundation. One Love is a non-profit organization that helps teach people about unhealthy relationships, abuse and signs showing that something is wrong. The Foundation’s goal is to “empower people to have healthy relationships”.
“To the team it really means a lot that we were able to support and raise more than $3,000 for this important foundation. It means even more to us because a former WJ student athlete was a victim of relationship abuse and was tragically killed by her partner,” Slack said.
Many of the players wore blue to school on gameday (One Love’s primary color) to help spread awareness and the WJ One Love club ran concessions at the JV and varsity games. Blue ribbons were sold for a dollar with all proceeds going to the One Love Foundation.
“A lot of people don’t know about it and also when you are in that situation there is not much you can do so just make sure just to always be kind,” sophomore defender Hildi Altman said.
The team will attempt to get back to their winning ways when they travel to face the Wootton Patriots (4-1) on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.