In the Washington area, field hockey and lacrosse success often go hand-in-hand, evidence St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes, Quince Orchard, and W.T. Woodson.
In the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, field hockey competition is only three years old. But the league has quickly fallen in line as Good Counsel, the three-time defending lacrosse champion, is also pursuing its third straight WCAC field hockey crown.
Judging from Monday’s 5-0 defeat of St. John’s at Layhill Village Park, Good Counsel’s prospects for a field hockey three-peat are strong.
Using a lineup sprinkled with lacrosse players, Good Counsel got goals from five different players and dominated the team it edged last fall in the WCAC championship game, 2-1.
“Girls with sticks,” joked senior Ashley Stodter, an All-WCAC selection in both sports. “Actually I think field hockey is much harder. You have to run bending over. In lacrosse you can be good just by being fast. In field hockey, you have to have speed but more importantly, you have to have skills.”
The skills of Good Counsel (9-1, 5-0 WCAC) were apparent as sophomore Julianne Grothe scored an early goal with a deft nudge in traffic and then fed a long pass tosenior Lizzie Kusbit for a 2-0 lead. Both Falcons are lacrosse players.
“The sports are linked,” said Grothe. “I’m not sure why. You don’t see soccer players playing lacrosse. The similarity is just the sticks, I guess.”
In the second half, Good Counsel removed any suspense by scoring three goals in the first 10 minutes. Juniors Casey Garner, Lauren Willson and Sarah Costello got the tallies while sophomore Monica Baumgartner led the defense.
“My entire starting lineup can play midfield,” said Good Counsel coach Kelly Stodter. “We have a lot of speed, a lot of offensive threats, a lot of athletes who are on winning teams in other sports.”
Falcons take flight
» Good Counsel’s top scorers are Ashley Stodter (six goals, 10 assists), Julianne Grothe (11 goals, three assists) and Lauren Willson (six goals, four assists).
» Kelly Stodter, the mother of Ashley, shares coaching duties with former UMBC player and Good Counsel grad Kristin Ramsay.
