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Sports

Foxborough Field Hockey Tie Mansfield in Crossover Game

The Warriors had a 2-0 lead with 18:55 to play but Mansfield came back to get a 2-2 draw.

Last time the Foxborough Warriors got together with the Mansfield Hornets for a game of field hockey, the Hornets walked away with a 1-0 win due to a late game goal. The excitement levels managed to get higher in their Hockomock Crossover rematch. In the battle of the league's second place teams, there was no clear winner as the Warriors and the Hornets played to a 2-2 draw.

Mansfield clearly dominated the first half with an 8-0 advantage in shots and a 4-1 advantage in short corners. Winning the possession battle in the first half, the Hornets controlled the ball well but still couldn’t get a good look at the net.

“We were not able to get a good solid shot on goal but time of possession was totally in our favor," said Mansfield coach Theresa DeGirolamo.

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Playing a sluggish opening half, the Warriors struggled to clear the ball past midfield and get chances early on.

“We were in the game definitely. We had some opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on but we were in the game,” said Foxboro coach Melissa Bordieri.

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The second half proved to be a whole new game as Mary Beth Sweeney scored from near the right post to give Foxborough a 1-0 lead.

The goal gave a boost to a Warriors team that needed something and fast. The quick pace of the game began to work in Foxborough’s favor as they attacked the Mansfield defense.

“Once they got they got the first goal they started playing with more confidence,” Said Bordieri.

Foxborough quickly scored another one from Kelsie Morahan to expand the lead to 2. Shooting from the middle left area of the circle, Morahan had plenty of space to get the shot off and get the goal.

Down by 2 goals, the Hornets slowly began to fight back. Meg Chemburkar got the Hornets on the board with a shot that was simply too high to save with 10:35 left to play in the game.

The goal caused a momentum switch from Foxborough to Mansfield. The Hornets had a chance to tie with 5 minutes to play off a short corner but Liz Delaney made back to back saves to preserve the lead.

The tying goal came with a little over 3 minutes to play. Megan Doherty got the ball down low and found the back of the net to tie the game at 2.

Good defense in the final minutes of play prevented a winning goal as the Hock Crossover game ended in a draw.

In sports there are good ties and bad ties depending on if you came back or lost the lead. For Mansfield, this is one of those games where there were elements of both a good tie and a bad tie.

“If you look just at the second half it was a good tie for us but when you look at the first half where we really did dominate and have more shots, we needed to score one in the first half and that could of changed out things went in the second,” said DeGirolamo.

Foxborough on the other hand, had the chance to win but at times had trouble dealing with the fast pace of the Hornets.

“They(Foxborough) definitely can’t allow Mansfield to beat them to the ball. 100% can’t allow it. Mansfield is very fast. They cut the ball off well and they redirect the ball well," Said Bordieri.

The tie gives Foxborough an 11-4-2 record with 24 points and Mansfield now has a record of 8-3-6 with 22 points.

Despite drawing, both teams have one more chance to face each other. The Warriors and Hornets will make up a rain delayed game at Mansfield on Oct. 28 to end the reglar season. With two exciting games already in the books, this one is expected to be another competitve battle to the finish.

“Never boring,” Said DeGirolamo of the rivalry. “I’m sure it will be pretty close on Friday.”

Match time is expected to be at 3:30pm at Alumni Field at Mansfield High School.

Scoring Assist Time Half Team Mary Beth Sweeney Shannon O'Rourke 5:43 2 FHS Kelsie Morahan Katie Ennis 11:55 2 FHS Meg Chemburkar Meg Carroll 19:25 2 MHS Megan Doherty Meg Carroll 26:42 2 MHS
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