MILFORD, Mass. – The Milford Hawks surged out to a confident, overwhelming win to kick off their season, toppling Bellingham, 18-7.
After the game, head coach Jason Gelmini said the game gave his side confidence as they start their season.
“Its huge, especially after a year like year when we were a really young, rebuilding team,” he said. “We know we have a tough schedule this year, and so to get things started off on such a good note is a huge boost”
Junior attack Olivia Overdahl put in a stellar performance registering seven goals, while senior goalie Samantha Faucher also impressed, allowing just seven goals while stopping 11 shots.
Gelmini praised the effort of Overdahl, saying, “She's a girl that we've known for a while would have a big impact on our team and she really came into her own today, she had that spark all over the field. She played great defense and controlled a lot of draws for us on top of all the goals.”
Bellingham drew first blood in the contest, taking a 1-0 lead in the opening minute on a bounce shot. They would score three more goals in the half, but not until Milford had taken control of the contest.
The Hawks would respond quickly after the opening tally, putting up the next three goals, all coming from the stick of Overdahl. She would score five of her seven in the first half.
Louisa Stansbury, Joiya Sousa, Megan DePaolo, Julia Tempesta and Gabby Vasile also lit up the scoreboard for Milford, each tallying one goal in the first half.
Faucher was also a huge part of Milford's effort to build their lead in the first half, as she stopped seven of the eleven shots she saw in the half.
Gelmini complimented his keeper's strong play after the final buzzer sounded.
“There was a time in the first half where we weren't getting many opportunities and we needed our defense to step up,” Gelmini said. “Faucher stepped up, showed a lot of leadership and came up with some huge saves for us. If not for that, the entire tide of this game could have gone the other way.”
The teams traded volleys to begin the second half, as each team put up two goals in the first five minutes to preserve the big Milford advantage at 13-6. Milford would then once again take control in the middle portion of the half, putting in five of the last six goals while building to the final 18-7 margin.
Vasile was back for more in the second half, as she, along with Krystral Volpe and Danielle Carrier, added to the second half total for Milford, each finding the back of the net once. Meanwhile, Overdahl and Molly Dillon capped of their days with two tallies a piece in the second half.
The advantage proved to be enough to power the Hawks to victory, as they would coast to the 18-7 victory. Milford starts their season at 1-0 with the win, and will next matchup against Franklin for another home contest on Monday, March 29 at 3:30pm.
Brendan Murray can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @MurraySportTalk.