On the heels of an overtime victory against Pinkerton Academy in Mack Plaque play, the Londonderry High field hockey squad had a five-game winning streak rolling and had every reason to feel great about itself.
The Lady Lancers still had plenty of reasons to feel good about themselves following a 2-1 loss to tough Manchester Central that ended Londonderry’s five-game winning streak in the Queen City last Wednesday, Sept. 28. But bagging a victory in that match would have had the LHS crew virtually floating on air as it began a six-day break from competition that didn’t end until Wednesday, Oct. 5, after Londonderry Times press time, with a home match against Dover.
Central advanced to 7-1-1 with the 2-1 edging of 6-3-1 Londonderry, in which the hosts netted the only goal of the first half to carry an advantage to the break.
But the hosts potted an insurance marker a little more than two minutes into the second half, forcing the Lady Lancers to face a daunting comeback effort.
The Londonderry side busted the Central shutout with just 2:39 left in the match, with Sarah Vanini tallying on an assist from Olivia Palumbo. LHS goalie Danielle Ziv made 10 saves her contribution to her squad’s performance.
“I see this break as a great time to rest gearing up for postseason,” said LHS coach Laura Federico. “We played okay against Central, but Central is a great team which is skilled and ready to play. We did not come out as strong as I would have liked, but it prepares us for the post-season.”
Sarah Vanini had the lone goal for the LHS field hockey team in against Central last week.