Julia Cavallo's goal leads Northport to field hockey win
Natalie McKenna #1, Northport goalie, right, plays in a non-league field hockey game against host Bayport-Blue Point High School on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. Credit: James Escher
It only takes one.
Julia Cavallo scored the only goal on a cross from Sydney Wotzak 1:42 into the game and Northport held on for a 1-0 victory over Bayport-Blue Point in a non-league field hockey matchup on Saturday.
The scoreboard wouldn’t change for 58 minutes as the two top seeds in their divisions engaged in a defensive battle.
"That is definitely this team’s strength,” Northport coach Gina Walling said. “They come out hard.”
The defending state champions are 9-0 overall despite losing all four of its defensive players from last season to graduation. This season has served as a transition period for the new starters..
“This is the first game that we’ve really seen them jell together, and it’s big for the team to see them working together the way that last year’s defensive unit worked together. This game proved that they had it down,” Walling said.
“We made our defense strong, and we were waiting for the opportunity to score again,” Cavallo said. “But we didn’t want to try to force a goal because then it would have left us vulnerable. We just made sure we played our game and let them try to come to us.”
The Phantoms made every attempt to circumvent Northport’s defense, but when starting midfielder Maggie Kennedy collided with another player and was forced out of the game, Bayport-Blue Point (5-2) shifted its focus.
“In the second half without her, you could see that we weren’t carrying it as much as we should have been and we became more defensive-minded,” Bayport-Blue Point coach Karen Gick said. “We had to keep focusing on making sure we were marked. We didn’t want to give up a goal on a breakaway.”
When there were breakaways, goalkeeper Caroline Lewkowicz came through for the Phantoms. She made eight saves in the game, with four of those being consecutive swats by Northport’s Olivia McKenna, who leads Long Island with 23 points this season, including 18 goals and five assists.
“It’s about trust and communication,” Lewkowicz said. “I had trust in my teammates that once I made the save, they could take it right out.”
Northport goalkeeper Natalie McKenna, who is Olivia's twin sister, made two of her three saves in the fourth quarter when Bayport-Blue Point was applying pressure in an attempt to tie the score.
“Everyone was playing their best today,” Olivia McKenna said. “Knowing that I had the team behind me in the right places helped us work well together.”
