Seneca Valley High School vs Thomas S. Wootton High

Photo courtesy of Lifetouch. Wootton high school field hockey is still undefeated, and its dominance is convincing. On Friday, the Patriots routed Seneca Valley, 7-0, to mark its third straight shutout win. Wootton has also already earned wins over Northwood and Clarksburg, 7-0 and 6-0, respectively. The Patriots won just five games total in 2024, but the team has seemed to turn over a new leaf. Saturday’s game was a demolition from start to finish. At just the 10-minute mark of the first quarter, Wootton struck gold. Seven of the Patriots’ field players crowded within 20 feet of Seneca Valley’s goal, suffocating any chance of a Screaming Eagles breakout. A drive into the shooting circle by a Wootton midfielder found one of the four attacking Patriots players, who immediately redirected the pass on goal. Seneca Valley’s two defenders and goalie were both outnumbered and caught off guard by the sudden attack, and could not react fast enough to stop the sizzling shot from entering the net. The Patriots continued to apply consistent pressure throughout the first frame. Just minutes later, eight Wootton players stood at the ready as a penalty corner was taken and buried. A penalty stroke put the Patriots up by three scores with six minutes still to play in the first quarter, and by the time the frame was over, Wootton led by four goals. Needing to forge a comeback, and promptly, the Screaming Eagles instead were outnumbered at nearly every 50-50 battle for possession. They struggled mightily to transition the ball up the flanks, with the Patriots’ central midfielders often shifting over to assist and shut down any potential counterattack. The little attacking time the Screaming Eagles had fizzled out quickly either due to misdirected passes, or simply not enough support. On multiple occasions, a Seneca Valley attacker streaked up the field without any fallback options on either side. This essentially forced them to dump and chase the ball into Patriots territory. Wootton’s fifth score came with just under six minutes to play in the half. A Patriot midfielder shielded herself with the ball nicely before sending a shot into a flock of players in the shooting circle. The rebound popped to an open Patriot attacker, who buried the shot. Just minutes later, an impressive solo effort, in which a Patriot player marched from the 25-yard line to just past the 20-yard line before unleashing a rocket, yielded a sixth goal. No goals were scored in the third quarter at all. The frame was characterized by strong midfield play and principled defensive positioning, in which Seneca Valley did well to keep Patriot attackers at bay. The Screaming Eagles were able to muster some well-executed breakouts, which featured some speedy sideline runs that ultimately came up empty. Even when Seneca Valley was able to have time to get numbers behind its attack, a foul or turnover would reverse possession. The final score of the day was netted with just under two minutes to play in the game, as yet another ricocheted save ended up on the stick of one of the ready-to-pounce Patriot attackers. Wootton will look to maintain its winning ways as it takes on Whitman Tuesday at 7 p.m.