WATERTOWN – The route the Watertown discipline hockey crew took in a battle of unbeatens on Friday was completely different from some other this yr, however the vacation spot was the identical.
The No. 1 Raiders (10-0) used a dynamic assault and smothering protection to topple No. 5 Reading (10-1) in a 7-0 win at Victory Field. Molly Driscoll was on the forefront with a flashy hat trick, and Rachel Egan added two extra as 4 completely different gamers scored for Watertown in its sixty fourth straight win.
The Rockets acquired rather more offensive stress and held up defensively much better than some other crew has in opposition to Watertown this yr, but it surely didn’t appear to get in the best way. After tight finishes between them over the previous two seasons, the Raiders made a press release to win by seven in a sport that felt a lot nearer.
“That’s (a part of) our development from the beginning of the season and all those tough scrimmages,” mentioned Watertown head coach Eileen Donahue. “Our alignment has changed several times, our people on the field have changed several times. It says something that (the players) are getting it, what it means to be a competitor.”
“For us to be able to win 7-0 after losing some valuable players last year, I think it shows how much it doesn’t matter who’s on (our) team as long as you have people that are willing to put in the work during practice,” Driscoll added. “It was a really good win.”
The first half revealed a little bit of how Reading had solely allowed two targets in its 10 video games prior, as defenders stepped into harmful open areas to restrict photographs, and Myles Lakin accrued six of 13 whole saves.
But as groups traded stress, the Rockets couldn’t stymie Watertown prefer it did to them. Driscoll and the offense had been too relentless.
Just a few photographs on Lakin’s pads finally discovered the again of the cage seven minutes in, as Driscoll scooped the ball over a persist with the correct earlier than smashing a missile for a 1-0 lead. She pulled out the identical transfer 11 minutes later to double the lead early within the second.
Regan Driscoll, Adrianna Williams (objective) and Egan all performed giant roles in getting the ball downfield and creating scoring possibilities, as Williams, Egan and Aislin Devaney every scored round Molly Driscoll the remainder of the best way. But Molly Driscoll’s objective on a give-and-go with Katelyn O’Connor within the fourth quarter gave the senior her seventh hat trick this yr.
“Obviously it’s great, but it’s not just coming from me,” Driscoll mentioned. “It starts from our defenders, to our mids to our other forwards, who pass it in. Katelyn O’Connor had a great tip to me where she could’ve pulled it around, but she was able to pass it back to me. … I’m just doing my job.”
Reading gave Watertown some bother with the 2-0 deficit, stringing collectively transitions towards the circle. But the Raiders’ protection was too robust contained in the 25 for both of the Rockets’ two photographs on objective within the first half to current a critical hazard.
Reading got here out of the break with excessive vitality after Devaney pushed the result in 3-0 within the second quarter, however not even Natalie Wall’s bullet – which flew previous the goalie right into a defender’s stick – was sufficient to get on the board.
By the time Williams scored with 6:44 left within the third for a 4-0 lead, it was all however over.
“I think our overall team play (was the difference),” Donahue mentioned. “We might have the scores, but we work harder on our defense. … And our ball movement was really good, I thought.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com