East Grand Rapids High School

EGR Varsity Field Hockey v Hudsonville HS- 09.17.24 The Lady Pioneers demonstrated the depth of their lineup on Tuesday night with a dominant performance against the Hudsonville Eagles. From top to bottom, the EGR Field Hockey team showed they have the players to make it difficult for teams to cover all the options at their disposal. Hudsonville came out with a solid effort in the opening quarter and were able to hold the mighty offense at bay until the ten minute mark. The starting lineup varied from its normal configuration and yet there was no let down in the effort or chances to put one on the backboards. Lillie Ademy ('26) opening the scoring with a perfectly placed shot that had the Hudsonville goalie moving in the wrong direction. After the first frame, EGR held a 1-0 lead even though they had many opportunities to put some padding between them and an aggressive Hudsonville. In the second stanza, the Lady Pioneers began to create some breathing room as they dictated the play with steady defensive play led by senior co-captain Addie Gessner ('25) controlling the backline with Isla Westra ('26) and Kelly McMahon ('26). The gates opened with senior Henny Maher ('25) driving a whistler through the defense and by the goalie off of a penalty corner with 3:44 left in the half. The Lady Pioneers kept the pressure on with an outstanding run by senior co-captain Kellan Hudson ('25) from a 25 yard pass from Avery Albers ('27) that Hudson collected around 20 yards out and took into the circle, finishing with a well-placed drive to the far left corner. This gave EGR a 3-0 lead heading into the break. Nothing slowed down in the 3rd quarter as the Lady Pioneers came out with a desire to put the contest further out of reach. Senior Addie Behler ('25) got her first goal of the season by slotting a rebound from a penalty corner by the Hudsonville keeper and a 4-0 lead. Just eight minutes later, Avery Albers ('27) was able to drive home a score off another penalty corner with a wonderful pass from Maher to set up the shot. This solidified a 5-0 lead heading into the final frame. And the Lady Pioneers made sure the victory was cemented in the final stanza with three more tallies and a mercy-rule win. The scoring started with Addie Storrs ('26) tallying her first Varsity goal just three minutes into the quarter. Storrs knocked home a deflection from another corner as she was left alone by the back post after inserting the initial pass. Freshman Camilla Volovlek ('28) got a chance to join the score sheet by powering home a push from the left side of the circle from 8 yards to record her first career goal. After a timeout, sophomore midfielder Peyton Astrauskas ('27) came out with a full head of steam and just a minute after Volovlek's goal made it 7-0, put the game away with the eighth goal of the night for the Lady Pioneers on another well-placed pass from Maher for Astrauskas to rip another backboard pounding shot past the sprawled goalkeeper. A clean sheet from Junior goalkeeper Ellie Hilgendorf ('26) and another solid performance from both Vivian Cherveny ('26) and Carly Conway ('27) truly made this a team win with valuable contributions from top to bottom. Next game is Thursday night, September 19 at 7 PM in a rematch with OK Conference rival Forest Hills United, where the Lady Pioneers look to continue their strong, team-oriented play. The support of Teacher of the Match, Anne Lagrand, added a boost to to the encouragement from the bench.