Fresh off first loss, Vets back on track with 1-0 victory

Kevin Pomeroy
Posted 10/2/14

Coming off its only loss of the season, the Warwick Vets field hockey team had its first chance to respond to adversity on Monday afternoon.

A second-half goal by Maddie Axtmann provided a solid …

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Fresh off first loss, Vets back on track with 1-0 victory

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Coming off its only loss of the season, the Warwick Vets field hockey team had its first chance to respond to adversity on Monday afternoon.

A second-half goal by Maddie Axtmann provided a solid response, as the ’Canes got back in the win column with a 1-0 victory over Burrillville.

Vets is now 7-1, tied for the best record in all of Division II with Classical. The one in the loss column came against Cumberland last Wednesday, 1-0.

While there was no shame in losing to the Clippers, who are 6-1-1 on the year, it was still the only time in the first half of the season that the ’Canes have come out on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

Monday was all about the response.

“Good teams respond to those things,” said head coach Jim Areson. “I was really pleased.”

Vets leads D-II-South over Chariho, which is 5-1-2. Burrillville fell to 3-4-1 with the defeat.

The goal was Axtmann’s second of the year, and it came in the 20th minute of the second half. On a second consecutive restart from the right side, Savannah Hersey sent a ball to the middle, where Natasha Savage was waiting.

The play was designed for Savage to put the ball on net, but her attempt went just wide to the left. Luckily for the ’Canes, Axtmann was in the right spot, and she swept in the stray shot to make it 1-0.

“I was glad Maddie Axtmann scored,” Areson said. “We’ve been really working on that in practice. She did everything right there. I’m glad it finally paid off for her.”

One goal has been more than enough for Vets most of the time this season, as the team has surrendered just two goals the entire year.

It was enough again on Monday, as the defense put the clamps on a Burrillville team that had been shutout only once all season.

The Broncos didn’t get a single penalty corner in a second half that was all ’Canes, even with just the one goal.

“Defensively, we’re solid,” Areson said. “We lead the league in goals against. Two – that’s it. It’s crazy. In the second half they didn’t have a corner. That’s not uncommon for us either.”

Arietta Chevian paced the defense from her spot in the back, while fullbacks Julie Ye and Sam Harris did plenty of their own work. Lauren Vuz also contributed.

Burrillville’s Kasey Desrosiers – one of the top players in the division – made a few runs with the ball toward the goal, but she rarely got a good look. Her best opportunity came in the sixth minute of the game when she backhanded a shot off of goalie Naomi Franzen’s chest.

Other than that, Desrosiers was limited. She has eight goals this season, second in D-II.

“I thought my fullback Sam Harris and Julie Ye played really well today,” Areson said. “That kid No. 14, she is a real good player. They shut her down.”

It was a classic Vets win, as the team has scored just 14 goals this season but has consistently gotten the job done.

That was especially good on the heels of the loss to Cumberland, a game in which Vets felt it played well but just not quite well enough.

“We just seem to score enough to do things,” Areson said. "I would have like to see us create more opportunities today, but I’ll take the win.”

The first half was a back-and-forth affair in which neither team created many chances. Vets got a few looks, but never connected on a clean shot. The ’Canes had a five to three edge in penalty corners.

Vets is officially at the halfway point, as it has eight games remaining on its schedule. It was scheduled to take on Woonsocket on Wednesday, but that game was postponed due to inclement weather.

On Friday, it will host winless Cranston East at 3:45 p.m.

“We are playing well,” Areson said. “When it all kind of starts snowballing. Once the momentum gets going everything seems to be going our way.”

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