Waltham 2, Arlington 2: Caught up in knots

For the second game in a row yesterday the Waltham High field hockey team put forth a furious effort late in the contest to rally for a point critical to its state tournament hopes.

Unfortunately, that meant it was also the second game in a row the Hawks put themselves in position to need a furious effort late in the contest to rally for a point critical to its state tournament hopes.

After coming back from down three goals in the second half for a 4-4 tie with Concord-Carlisle on Friday, Waltham was down 2-1 in the closing minutes against longtime rival Arlington yesterday. But, once again, the Hawks responded. They pounded the Ponder circle after a timeout with 8:52 and scored the tying goal with 1:36 as junior Allie Hickey finished a scramble off a penalty corner.

It was the first of four corners earned in the final 100 seconds. The last of which occurred just before time expired and allowed the Hawks to extend the game in search of the dramatic victory. Senior Dana Centofanti took the initial pass and sent it to the far post where two Hawks jammed at the ball before it popped up - drawing the whistle on Waltham that ended the 2-2 draw.

``They are learning that we have to create all this fight and desire when we are losing, or else we're going to lose,'' said Waltham coach Denise Nugent. ``I am just hoping we can learn to put that fight and desire in the game from the beginning instead of having to come back game after game. Two games in a row, we've had a battle. The good news is that we battled. That says a lot about their character and their belief in each other. The bad news is we have to battle like that in the first place.''

It will likely be a battle from here on in to make the state tourney. Waltham is now 5-4-3 with five games left to play and still must face Chelmsford (tomorrow), Acton-Boxboro, Lincoln-Sudbury and Westford, along with a match against Newton South. Waltham needs either two victories, or a victory and two ties, to make the cut in its first Dual County League season.

``We knew how important this game was because it kind of determined whether or not we get into tournament,'' Centofanti judged. ``If we had won this game, it would have helped us so much more. At the beginning of the season, we didn't really think about the tournament. Now we are starting to much more.''

Hoping to get a big boost from their dramatic comeback in Concord on Friday, the Hawks instead found themselves in a familiar spot yesterday with a 1-0 deficit midway through the first half. But the Hawks quickly tied the match as they were awarded a penalty stroke when an Arlington player illegally interfered with a shot in the goal and Centofanti buried the set chance.

Waltham continued the pressure into the half as Centofanti and senior Brianna Sorrentino pushed the ball into the circle and sophomore Erika Shay delivered a great stretch of play where she was aggressive and showed off her speed.

The Hawks seemed in control of the second half when Arlington suddenly struck back. The Ponders quickly reversed field as Kylee Sullivan beat two retreating Waltham defenders for the goal with 18:49 on the clock.

``We don't transition well,'' allowed Nugent. ``You need to get some ball containment right away. It has to start with the closest person to the ball and not the defender. It should start with the forward who just turned the ball over. It should start with her teammate who is close, which may happen to be a forward or a link. We do better going from defense to offense, but offense to defense is not our forte.''

Nugent soon called a timeout, but it was the Ponders who controlled play over the next 10 minutes before Nugent called her second timeout at 8:48 with perhaps the season on the line.

It was then that the Hawks summoned a different level of energy for the second straight game.

``I think at the end everyone picks it up so much more and we have so much more fight to get it in the net,'' offered senior captain Laura Marmion ``I feel that we start talking more and it makes the game so much easier.''

Right away, the Hawks got behind the Ponders defense and Hickey had a one-on-one with the goal that was stopped. A minute later, junior Stacy Burns pushed the ball up the near sideline to Centofanti, then to Hickey into the circle. Senior Shannon McGrattan and Shay battled for a corner at 3:52 and Centofanti got a second corner at 3:33. On that play, McGrattan sent the ball out to Centofanti, who fed it back in where Shay and Sorrentino had whacks at it on the post.
Sorrentino then earned a whistle and fed the ball to Shay for another corner at the 1:54 mark that Waltham turned into Hickey's tying goal.

``We definitely work well under pressure,'' Centofanti said. ``But I think we need to feel that pressure from the beginning of the game. We need to set more goals for ourselves and start it off in the beginning stronger.''

The Hawks face a big challenge against the Lions Friday, then play three DCL teams - A-B, L-S and Westford - that beat them the first time around.

``A lot of the teams left we have played in the past so we know how hard we have to come out,'' Centofanti assured. ``Acton-Boxboro is one of our rivals because of what happened last year (in an overtime state tourney game).''

``It's all a learning experience,'' determined Nugent. ``The whole season has been like that for them and now they are going to have to use it because it will be a battle to the end.''