Leesburg, Va. — After coming off a trip to the state championship in 2017, the Potomac Falls High School field hockey team went into their game against Loudoun Valley High School with high hopes. Despite the Vikings having hopes of their own, the Panthers and senior midfielder Abby Asuncion had other plans, as Potomac Falls rallied past Loudoun Valley, 5-2, on September 13.
“We have trust in each other,” Asuncion said. “And that is how we are going get better as a team in the future.”
[adrotate banner=”10″]The contest started off with a quick goal by Asuncion less than four minutes into the first half. The Panthers continued to surge after the goal, by drawing multiple penalty corners against the Vikings, with Asuncion scoring again with five minutes left in the first half.
After falling to Stone Bridge, 5-1, only two days before, the Vikings held the high-scoring Panthers to only two goals in the first half on nine shots on goal. Loudoun Valley ended the half on a strong note by defending a strong push from Potomac Falls, picking up big saves on the defensive side when the horn sounded.
This momentum gave Loudoun Valley a spark at the end of the first half, which showed true going into the second.
Loudoun Valley made strong passes, used speed and drew penalty corners against Potomac Falls to pin them back in their own zone. Then with two corners in the two-minute span, the Vikings finally found a pair of goals, one by junior forward Sarah Thompson and the other by senior forward Gillian Krug.
Before they knew it, the Panthers were playing in a tied game with 20 minutes to go, and it didn’t look like Loudoun Valley’s momentum would be ending anytime soon.
“We lacked speed and communication,” Asuncion added.
However, the Panthers upped their aggressiveness to get themselves back in the Vikings’ zone, Asuncion still leading the charge. Before Loudoun Valley knew what hit them, Asuncion scored two more goals in a 90-second stretch.
“We got back into the swing of things,” Potomac Falls junior midfielder Abigail Detorie said. “Once we got some fresh legs and familiar faces in there, we really bounced back and stayed in the game.”
Potomac Falls sophomore forward Chloe St. Francis added another goal five minutes later, pushing the score to 5-2, as the Panthers cruised to a win.
“We started communicating, looking up and trusting each other as a whole,” Asuncion said. “This is how we better ourselves for the future.”
Potomac Falls (4-1) will look to continue its winning ways when the Panthers play Loudoun County (4-3) at Heritage on September 24. Loudoun Valley (3-5) has a quick turnaround as they head to Liberty on September 17.
Scoring
1H 21:41 PF Abby Asuncion
1H 5:10 PF Abby Asuncion
2H 24:16 LV Sarah Thompson
2H 23:30 LV Gillian Krug
2H 15:43 PF Abby Asuncion
2H 14:06 PF Abby Asuncion
2H 9:30 PF Chloe St. Francis
Correction: An earlier version of this story credited Natalie Brennan with a goal. The goal was scored by Chloe St. Francis.
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