East Grand Rapids High School

EGR Varsity Field Hockey v Spring Lake- 10.02.24 Senior Night brought a festive atmosphere to Mehney Memorial Field on Tuesday night as the Lady Pioneers hosted Spring Lake. The early celebration of the four Seniors carried over to more celebration later in the night. The presentation of each Senior by the younger players helped to hype the crowd and get the team energized to honor the numerous contributions from the Seniors. This was a night when the underclassmen would respect the countless hours the Seniors had expended in the previous years by playing with the same exuberance to bring home a victory. Spring Lake had a spring in their step at the opening tap and it carried on through the first quarter. The Lady Pioneers were able to control the speed of play, the time of possession was heavily in their favor, and they had four penalty corner opportunities, yet the Lakers held the game to a 0-0 tie after the initial fifteen minutes. However, the enthusiasm from the quarter break huddle carried over onto the field and the EGR team broke the deadlock at the two-minute mark of the second quarter. After some smooth passing off a corner insert, the shot by Peyton Astrauskas (’27) off of a pass by Senior Addie Behler (’25) ended up on the stick of Avery Albers (’27) who found the gap between the Spring Lake goaltender’s pads. This elevated the level of play as the rest of the half was played in the Spring Lake end with the ball often glued to the EGR players’ sticks. After a spirited talk amongst the team at the intermission, the Lady Pioneers started the second half with determination to put the game out of reach. In the eighth minute, Camilla Volovlek (’28) did what she has been doing the last few games- finding the open area off the ball and redirecting shots into the back of the net. On a shot by Behler off of a penalty corner, one of 10 in the quarter, Volovlek was able to control the redirection into the back boards and put EGR up 2-0. It did not take long for the lead to grow. A minute after the previous goal, another insert by Addie Storrs (’26) on yet another penalty corner came to the top of the circle to Astrauskas, whose drive ended of scuffing the ball with black paint from the back board. The 3-0 lead was carried into the fourth quarter and the team prepared to celebrate a stellar night for the Seniors. With their teammates working hard to put them in position for scoring opportunities, the Seniors each took turns at trying to find an opening on a beleaguered Spring Lake goalie. Finally with five minutes left in the match, Senior co-Captain, Kellan Hudson (’25), had an opportunity to get a shot on goal. With a nice save on the initial shot by the keeper, the rebound ended up on the stick of Storrs, who was able to pound in the rebound to provide the final tally in the EGR 4-0 win. The score does not belie the control EGR had of this game. Crisp passing, stellar stick work by Senior Henny Maher (’25) made Spring Lake seem at times as if they were skating on ice. Her Senior leadership and experience truly paid dividends in making the Lakers work for any touch on the ball. In the end, EGR had possession for 85% of the match. And when you do not have the ball, it is difficult to score. It was a wonderful night to showcase the attitude, experience and true leadership that this group of Seniors brings to the current version of the EGR Lady Pioneers Field Hockey program. Co-captain Hudson, co-Captain Addie Gessner (’25), Maher and Behler have the admiration of their families, but definitely have the respect of their fans, their opponents and best of all, their teammates. Casey Smith, high school Social Studies teacher, was the Teacher of the Match and cheered on this group with as much enthusiasm as if they were his own daughters. Two future field hockey players, Chloe McElvey and Campbell Richards, were our younger honorees and helped the team with warm ups and introductions. Two regular season games remain- home on Mehney Memorial Field on Saturday, October 5 at 11 AM against another east side team, Grand Blanc, and the last game is away at Hudsonville on Monday, October 7 at 7 PM. Please come out and support this group of dedicated and fine representatives of East Grand Rapids High School and the community at large