October 19, 2026 -- ROCKFORD, MI When the playoffs begin, it becomes a win-and-move-on or lose-and-go-home scenario. This evening, the EGR Girls Field Hockey team made it quite clear that they are not ready to go home. With a display of resilience and pride, the winner proved their superior play was not matched by the opponent. However, it did not start that way for the Pioneers. Facing the Rockford Rams for the third time this season proved to be just a contentious and spirited as the OK Conference games played during the regular season. The Rams started off fast with four forwards and some excellent play from their on-field general, Luna Mitchell (’28). Her crisp passes were finding the hooks of her teammates and EGR was trying to find their groove. They were not able to before Rockford opened the scoring with a goal from Isabelle Schubert, Rockford’s leading scorer. She had taken up her usual position on the far side of the net and was able to scrape the ground and knock home a loose rebound. The Rams were excited to have a 1-0 lead, but failed to realize they had simply poked the bear. Once the second quarter opened up, so did the play of the Pioneers. The passes started to click with some smooth give and goes, and finding open space in which to operate. The pressure began to build and true to the team character many people got involved in making things flow. This resulted in a pass from Evie Paul (’28) across the goal that squibbed past Rockford goalie, Jordin Woods (’27), and onto the stick of the waiting Katie Hannah (’29) who slid the ball into the corner of the Rockford net. The teams stayed this way going into the halftime break, meaning it was a fresh thirty-minute game to decide who would move to the next round. That is when the better team came out to shine. Led by Senior co-Captain Peyton Astrauskas (’27), the Pioneers came out with energy that had been lacking in the first quarter. The pressure on Rockford was immediate and withing the first four minutes, EGR had rung up a second tally. From an insert by Senior co-Captain Avery Albers (’27), Astrauskas drilled a shot past the Rockford netminder to bang off the boards. With a 2-1 lead and feeling comfort in their passing game, EGR exerted more pressure in the midfield with Sophomore Toccoa Lepley (’29) made it know that she would not be knocked off the ball. Her steals led to quick play in the EGR offensive direction and her passing made Rockford chase the ball, but always one step behind. By the end of the third the Rams seemed to tire and allowed the EGR offense to pick its moments. It resulted in another goal for Astrauskas off of a pass from Junior winger Camilla Volovlek (’28). With a deft touch, Astrauskas took the pass and executed a reverse lift past the netminder to tickle the twine, leaving the Pioneers to protect a solid lead through the fourth quarter. EGR was able to keep the ball in the offensive zone during the majority of the fourth quarter even earning three offensive penalty corners. With the game winding down the team shifted to a more defensive posture to protect the net. Sophomore goalie, Izzy Hunt (’29), made 4 saves on the night and made sure the defense was organized most when it counted. Freshman Claire Haskell (’30) neutralized some of the more skilled players on the Rockford team allowing Astrauskas, Lepley and Albers the room to operate and coordinate the respective lines. With the final whistle, EGR clinched a 3-1 regional quarterfinal win and warmed up the bus to take them to Hudsonville for the Region 1 Semi-Finals on Wednesday, October 21 with tip back at 5:00 PM. The opponent for Wednesday’s match is Ann Arbor-Pioneer, the MHSAA number 1 seed in this year’s tournament. EGR has played well against top competition and will look to upset a team in Pioneer that has yet to face the Best in the West. Come out and support the girls as they put it all out on the field with the thought of Win and Move On! GO EAST!!