WINSTED >> The Thomaston Golden Bears controlled the entire game; putting 20 shots on net, but came home with only a 1-0 win against the Northwestern Highlanders.
“Their goalie is tremendous,” said Thomaston head coach Brooke Holway, speaking of Highlanders junior goalie Emma Beltrandi. “We basically tried to get a second touch on the ball.”
That was exactly what the Golden Bears did when Morgan Sanson was able to tip home an Abby Hurlbert shot during the first half, giving them a 1-0 lead that they would hold on to.
PHOTOS: Thomaston at Northwestern Field Hockey
“Abby did a nice job getting the ball up,” said Sanson, a sophomore. “We try to be aggressive in the circle, she (Beltrandi) was great today. She at least had 20 stops.”
The Golden Bears only goal almost didn’t go in as Beltrandi did get a piece of Sanson’s tip and almost saved it.
“Their one goal hit off of my neck,” said Beltrandi. “It was a fantastic shot.
The Golden Bears were aggressive the entire game, keeping the ball in the offensive zone for most of the game.
“We’ve been working on keeping possession in practice,” said Holway.
“We weren’t satisfied,” Holway said of her team wanting to score more.
It didn’t matter how hard they tried, how many girls they put in front of the net, the ball wasn’t going to get past Beltrandi again.
“It’s a typical Emma performance,” said Northwestern coach James Parrott.
Beltrandi wouldn’t take all the credit herself.
“I have a great team behind me,” she said. “Our defense all worked together.”
Northwestern and Thomaston are going in opposite directions so far this season.
The Highlanders are a young team, who is still learning the game.
“We have 19 girls on the team and 10 of them haven’t played field hockey before,” said Parrot. “I thought we did great today, I am very happy, but we are taking it one step at a time.”
The Golden Bears are now 2-0 and still getting better.
“We have made a lot of progress so far, they have big shoes to fill, for the girls we lost to graduation,” said Holway.
Northwestern travels to Nonnewaug to take on the Chiefs on Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. while Thomaston heads to Wamogo to play the Warriors also on Tuesday at 3:45 p.m.
Thomaston 1 Northwestern 0
At Northwestern High School
Thomaston 1 0 – 1
Northwestern 0 0 – 0
Goals: T – Morgan Sanson. Assists: T – Abby Hurlbert.
Saves: NW – Emma Beltrandi 19; T – Nicole Perruzzi 0.
Records: Thomaston 2-0, Northwestern 0-2.
