March 18
Falcons Tame Middle Creek Mustangs, 15-5

Green Hope came up with the first possession and, thanks to some hustle by Casey Reiser, and a pair of stick checks by Brittany Ruppert and Logan Kaznowski, prevented the ball from crossing into Mustang territory for the first three minutes of the game. Tenacious defense by Ali Brown, Christina Demetros and Mandy Blackburn kept the Mustangs corralled behind their cage for another several minutes.

Middle Creek scratched the board first, but Green Hope answered after a dead-stick sprint downfield by Lauren "Coz" Cosentino off her own draw. Jenna Lang intercepted a pair of Mustang passes. The second Falcon score of the night came off a Kelly Reiser to Coz connection after Kay Kay "Can Run" Keung drew a foul. Another Middle Creek goal put the score at two apiece halfway through the first period. Kelly Reiser wowed the crowd with a great grab off a bad bounce ground ball which set up Coz for a hop, a score and a 10 goal outburst by Green Hope. Deirdre O'Connor came up with the next draw and beat the Mustang defenders down the stretch for a goal of her own. The next Middle Creek scoring attempt was denied when Blackburn picked off a pass and flipped it back to goalie Katie Worsdale for the clear. That effort culminated in a goal by Ruppert with an assist from Rachel Chapla. The next Mustang offensive effort was stymied when Elba Olivero drew a charging foul. Kelly Reiser found the back of the net with some help from Chapla. Kaznowski fed one to Coz for another Green Hope tally. Coz's stick had barely cooled off when she drew a foul, gripped and re-gripped and fired one past the Mustang goalie. Ruppert closed out the half with her second score, putting Green Hope ahead 9-2.

The Lady Falcons beat the Mustangs out of the gate in the second half with a pick off by Kaznowski and another by Chapla, which resulted in a goal. Stalwart Brown successfully thwarted another scoring attempt by Middle Creek. Alannah Garcia dished one off to Ruppert who fired it in for the Falcons. The next series showcased crisp passes beginning with a clear by Worsdale to Brown, who relayed it to Ruppert. Ruppert connected with Kelly Reiser for a patient, well-placed shot.

Cheryl Schlitter replaced Worsdale (who is credited with several saves for the night) in the Falcon cage with eighteen minutes left to play and held the Mustangs to only two more scores. Chapla once again ripped one after a perfect pass by Kelly Reiser. The last two Green Hope tallies were put on the board by Coz after a left hand shot and an assist from Keung. Newcomer Hagen Donahue displayed persistence on defense and drew a groan from the crowd when her bounce shot bounced left of the goal. Kelsey Collins, Dana Josephson, Shannon Leonard, Taylor George, Priscilla Lin, Allie Klavik, Danielle Johnson, Kelly Bristow, and Nicole Nisbet all rounded out the successful evening for Green Hope with ground ball recoveries, solid defense and hustle.

Contributed by Michelle and Bruce Collins

• Game Day Program Contributed by Rebecca Brophy

Photos contributed by Scott Brown