'We crave the feeling of winning': How Case girls' friendship fuels success on the field
SWANSEA — Connections between student athletes on and off the field in multiple sports are valuable for schools in our community.
Joseph Case, small in size but big at heart, is one of those teams.
One hundred and 16 days ago, Megan Smith, Lexi Yost, Brooke Orton, Anna Michaud, Brooke Perron, Skye Dupre and the Cardinals came close of winning a Division IV state championship, but lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Amesbury and finished as the runner-up.
Now all six girls are back and looking to do some damage for the field hockey team.
"Most of us here play sports two or three seasons in a year around," Yost said. "So that connection between all of us is really nice, especially when you carry over seasons and never miss a beat. We crave the feeling of winning. It says a lot about our culture and what we do as a school."
Case is one of 11 field hockey teams in Massachusetts still unbeaten. On Wednesday, the Cardinals kept it going, running their record to 11-0 with a 5-1 win over league opponent Bourne.
Smith said most of the girls on the team have been playing together since the seventh grade. She also said they spend so much time together.
"It shows we dedicated a lot of time and effort into Case sports, not just field hockey," she said. "We all hustle and really work hard every day, and that obviously shows from softball to field hockey. We've definitely grown a lot over the past two years."
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Junior netminder Anna Michaud said the team keeps their family connection going and know where each other is on the field.
"We have a great athletic group," she said. "A lot of girls keep active and play three sports. We're always doing something and we're athletic. We have that strive to keep it going and never give up. We just want it."
Case head coach Kacie Martel said being a multi-sport athlete helps all sports and all the teams.
"I think that although we are small, we have a good crew of girls who are very athletic right now," Martel said. "They keep themselves busy and play numerous sports. We keep them busy in the fall and they keep them in shape in the spring."
As for the game, Smith netted her first hat trick of the season. Orton had a pair of assists while Yost finished with an assist and many close range chances. Michaud stopped five shots in net for the win. Perron and Dupre also played well in the win.
"A lot of our energy translate over [to other sports]," Yost said.
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How it happened
Case wasted little time getting on the board in the first quarter as Smith knocked in a rebound off the pads of Canalman netminder Olivia Tura to take a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, Maeve Richardson scored on a feed from Yost to go up 2-0 at 7:52.
A minute later, speedy Jenna Benfeito tucked in a shot on a pass form Orton and the lead increased to 3-0.
"Case is a very talented team," Bourne head coach Mike Massmann said. "They have three of four players who are very good and will go on to the next level. They made very few mistakes out here today, and they were able to capitalize on our mistakes."
In the second quarter, Smith added her second goal of the game with 1:43 left as the Cardinals led 4-0.
Smith netted the hat trick early in the third quarter on Orton's pass and the lead ballooned to 5-0. The Canalman finally got on the board with a goal from Caleigh Wrighter off a rebound at 7:07. Both teams played a scoreless fourth quarter.
"It feels great [to win today]," Martel said. "The girls work hard. We're trying to keep it rolling."
Massmann talks postgame
"It was a good test for us, coming out here and playing these girls. Case is more field hockey players than we are. But my girls did not give up for one second and played hard all game."
Unsung heroes
Martell said she received solid defensive play from Kaelyn Lecomte, Brooke Perron, Rylie Macdonald, Addie Carreiro, Skylar Demoranville and Emma Plante. She also said midfielders Orton and Shelby Hajder had strong games. Dupre and Cat Rousseau also contributed to the win.
Up next
Case travels to Seekonk on Friday
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Case High field hockey credits win over Bourne to long-term connection
