East Grand Rapids High School

EGR Varsity Field Hockey v. Pinckney- 10.16.24 First Round of 2024 State Playoffs The air crackled with the electricity of the moment. Playoff field hockey arrived in East Grand Rapids and Mehney Memorial Field was the lightening rod. The Pinckney High School Pirates came to town from the east side, but soon found out that the Best of the West is East! The crisp Fall evening brought temperatures in the high 40s and low 50s, but the heat was turned up from the opening whistle. EGR came out strong in the opening frame, taking control shortly after the tap and possessing the ball much more than the Pirates. After just six minutes, the spectators were treated to a loud bang, signifying the first goal of the night. Freshman Camilla Volovlek (’28) took a feed on the far post, after some excellent passing between Senior co-Captain Kellan Hudson (’25) and Peyton Astrauskas (’27). Volovlek did what she has done so well the latter half of the season- finish the play. Her tally was her 9th goal of the year, and seemed to set the tone for what could potentially prove to be a long night for the team from Pinckney. However, this is playoff hockey, and Pinckney showed the grit necessary to advance. They came back, just two minutes later, with a swift transition from a free hit that ended with their leading scorer Natalie Pease in a two-on-one situation and she scooped the rebound from goalkeeper Ellie Hilgendorf (’26). Pease knocked the ball past Hilgendorf’s outstretched pad. Now that the tension of a game without goals had been abated and the teams were back to even, both sides settled in to play their respective games- EGR maintained possession, while Pinckney looked for openings in transition without having the ball on their stick much of the time. This resulted in a tremendously lopsided affair as far as time of possession. Even though EGR maintained possession in their defensive half or had the ball in the offensive half of the field for more than ninety percent of the first half, Pickney’s transition game kept them in the contest. And in the late stages of the half, with four minutes remaining, the Pirates found their moment and again used the speed on their forward line to break through in a transition situation and slot a second goal to take the lead into halftime, 2-1. After some direct instruction in the halftime huddle from both the coaching staff and to each other, the Lady Pioneers gripped their sticks firmer, bit down on their mouthguards harder, looked each other in the eye, put smiles on their faces to remind them that this game is fun and set to work in the second half. The girls from East, reinvigorated from their break, came out and truly dominated the tempo and flow of play. It did not take long until, in the fifth minute, Peyton Astrauskas let loose with a wicked push shot. Off of a penalty corner insert that was initiated by Avery Albers (’27), the ball seemed to make its’ way around the perimeter of the left side of the semi-circle until Albers received a pass from Senior Henny Maher (’25) and found her teammate, Astrauskas, open again at the top. After ripping the shot, before you could blink the twine rippled on the back of the netting in the cage. With the score now tied, it was a new match. However, the play remained in the favor of the Lady Pioneers, who went hunting for that go-ahead goal…and it did not take long. Just four minutes later, Hudson spotted Addie Storrs (’26) on the baseline in the circle. Storrs, with great vision, slid a pass to teammate Lillie Adamy (’26) in prime position for a clear shot. Adamy did not disappoint. By getting off a quick push to the far corner, she beat the goalkeeper to the open spot in the cage. The 3-2 lead felt much larger with the control the team had of time of possession and the defense having settled in against a now familiar opponent. This is the third consecutive year that EGR has faced Pinckney in the opening round of the playoffs. After a 2-1 win in overtime two years ago, and a solid 2-0 win in last year’s tournament, the Lady Pioneers were determined not to break their winning streak against the Pirates. Going into the final frame, the team from EGR set their determination level on high and went about controlling the play. This started with the outstanding effort in the second half from stellar midfielder Maher, who not only dribbled around and through people, but also consistently made block tackles that dispossessed the opponent of the ball time and again as they tried to mount any sort of attack. The defense was able to read how Pinckney wanted to pursue opportunities off of transitions, settled into a much more effective see-saw defense that left no room for those breaks and cracks to exist in their wall. The defense, led by center back Isla Westra (’26), Senior Addie Behler (’25), Senior co-Captain Addie Gessner (’25) and Kelly McMahon (’26) organized themselves and Pinckney rarely found their way into the EGR defensive circle area. When the clock started to work in EGR’s favor, they truly frustrated the Pirates with nifty stickwork in the corners that maintained possession and simultaneously kept the opposition 100 yards from finding an equalizer. With a few penalty corners sprinkled in to catch their breath, the strength of the Lady Pioneers was evident to the final whistle. With a first round playoff win in the books, EGR now goes on the road next Tuesday, October 22 to Beverly Hills, MI to face Detroit Country Day School in a Quarterfinal match-up at 5 PM. This will be a replay of a match from the very first weekend of the season. This iteration of EGR is very different from the team that went to DCDS back in August, and there is never a clear winner in the playoffs until the final whistle blows. For now, last night was a special time with the return of playoff hockey to EGR, nearly 100 fans in the stand, Mr. Wells marshalling his band to strike up the music to urge these young women to victory, and Aaron Ditty, the Teacher of the Match for this game, lending his support on the sideline, the Lady Pioneers made this a night of excellent hockey. The “Beacon on the Lake” now looks to shine brightly as their suffocating pressure and swarm of contributing players look to exterminate the Yellowjackets season.