The Varsity girls’ field hockey team welcomed the Asheville High School Cougars to Bolton Field on Tuesday, September 10. The game was back and forth during the early minutes of the first half but the Demons retained most of the possession. 

Junior Isabella Garner sparked the excitement of the game, by driving the ball into the goal at the top of the circle, a quarter of the way through the game. This got the Reynolds offense rolling after multiple prior possessions ended in brilliant saves by the Asheville goalie. 

Minutes later an Asheville player scored the equalizing goal, tying it 1-1. The score remained even through halftime and the Demons hoped to make corrections heading into the second half. 

Garner got the Demons back on the scoreboard at the 17 minute mark, off of a play initiated by Sophomore Molly Hignite. This put the Demons up 2-1 after three quarters of play.

As the game wound down, RJR maintained a solid defense backed by Junior Hollis Daniel and Junior goalie Taylor McCallister. 

“It was important to trust your teammates and know that they’re back there,” said Junior captain Anne Foster.  “Even if all the offensive players couldn’t get back we knew that the defense was there.”

The Demons continued their attack late in the game, which was capped off by Freshman Mary Catherine Colo, who scored her first goal on varsity. The game ended, with the Demons on top 3-1, thanks to their strong second half. 

“We play best when we’re putting in 100% effort and being really quick and speedy,” said Senior Winborne Broughton. 

Moving on to a stretch of seven away games, Coach Rebecca Cox stressed the importance of making improvements.

“We’re going to focus on our corners, so we can score off those,” said Cox. “Tonight, most of our goals were scored off corners.”

The teams’ main concerns moving forward are starting out strong. “We have to show up and start our game in the very beginning and not wait until the second half,” said Cox.  

With an important stretch of their schedule ahead, the Demons hope to keep working hard and show up for each and every game.