On Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, the Field Hockey team traveled to Washington College to compete in their state championship game against the Westminster Owls, winning with a score of 2-1. Your Bobcat Varsity Field Hockey Team Girls are now state champions.

The Owls started the game with possession and controlled the ball for most of the first half. The Owls took many shots at the goal but the Bobcat defense was able to block each shot and keep the Owls from scoring. This was until Freshman Haleigh Moore scored the Owls’ first and only goal of the game with 9:43 left in the half.

The Bobcats Head Coach, Emily Gryglewski, immediately took a timeout to refresh her players, and the Bobcats took the field once more determined to score. With the little time in the half that Bel Air had left, the team took the ball down the field and were rewarded a corner after a Westminster player fouled inside the circle. Junior Karsyn Shek inserted the ball to Junior Anna Farley who took control and scored with 1:58 remaining in the first half.

“We were caught off guard in the beginning of the game because they are a great team. We pulled through in the end because we wanted the win more and we knew we could trust each of our players,” stated Senior Captain Emma Chmielewski.

The Bobcats started the second half with possession and treated it like it was a 0-0 game, playing harder and smarter than they did in the first half. The possession was equal between the two teams for most of the half. Both teams had many shots including Westminster’s Veronica Maring whose shot hit the post, causing the Owls fans believe they had gotten their second goal.

As the second half was coming to an end, the score was still 1-1 and everyone was expecting to go into overtime. This was until Westminster had once again fouled in their own circle allowing Bel air another corner opportunity, something the team works on every day at practice. Junior Karsyn Shek once again inserted the ball to Junior Anna Farley who took the ball and used a reverse chip to get the Bobcats final goal of the game with 2:55 remaining in the half, securing a state championship.

“Winning states was unbelievable. It was such an amazing experience, to have all the girls pile up on me screaming and crying was crazy. We couldn’t have done it without a single one of them!” commented Senior Goalie Selena Garcia.

This was the Field Hockey team’s first State Championship title they have received since 1977. The players were all rewarded with a plaque and first-year head coach Emily Gryglewski accepted the trophy on behalf of the team. Way to go Bobcats!