Fox Lane field hockey celebrates with a shutout victory

Fox Lane’s Katie Berisha (16) celebrates with her teammates after scoring a goal. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

By JIM MACLEAN

The smiles on the face of senior captain Katie Berisha and all her Fox Lane field hockey teammates were one of joy and relief. Berisha gained control of a loose ball, worked her way past a couple of defenders into the circle and fired a shot for a goal late in the third quarter, and the Foxes were on their way to a 2-0 shutout victory over Hastings.

It was a reason to smile and celebrate for the Foxes as they recorded their first win of the season on their home field on Oct. 8, over the Yellow Jackets.

“That felt so great to get a goal for the first time this season,” Berisha said. “We’ve been working really hard and it’s nice to accomplish this and get a win. We’re coming together as a team, and all the seniors are happy to see our hard work is paying off as we’re coming to the end.”

Fox Lane has had some tough losses this season, but the Foxes keep battling and it was a relief to see the hard work finally pay off in the win column.

Especially for the seniors on the roster as they enter the final weeks of the regular season and hope to finish strong. Senior captain Sara Renz missed her junior year due to injury, and she knows how hard the seniors and the rest of the team have worked to persevere and finally get that first win.

“We’ve been working for this all season, and today we really connected with our passing and communication on the field and I’m really happy we could pull it off,” Renz said. “It feels so great just to be back out on the field, I love playing with my team. I’ve played with so many of these girls for so long, and it’s just great to be back out there for my senior year.”

Victoria Yanuklis makes her move to the goal.

Fox Lane got off to a good start and took control of the action, and then Victoria Yanuklis gave the Foxes the lead as she scored a goal off an assist from Anabelle Kelly for a 1-0 lead.

Then Berisha scored with 2:38 left in the third to make it a two-goal lead.

That second goal gave the Foxes a comfortable lead heading into the final quarter and it was up to the Fox Lane defense and goalie Alyssa Cambareri to hold on. Hastings tried to respond and apply the pressure on offense, but the Fox Lane defense got the job done to close out the shutout victory. Cambareri had to make just two saves in goal as the Foxes controlled the action throughout the game.

It was also the first varsity win for new head coach Jennifer David with the Foxes. David had been junior varsity and modified coach at Fox Lane before taking over the varsity this season. She has known the girls on the varsity roster throughout their high school careers and she was happy to see the seniors get a win on the home field.

“I’m really proud of them, and hopefully we will take this momentum into next week,” David said after recording her first win as the varsity head coach. “They played really well and aggressively today and now we will build on that and keep playing strong. Our record doesn’t really show how hard they work for the full 60 minutes, but today it paid off. We’ve got some strong seniors that are our leaders on the field. Our seniors started with me in seventh grade on modified and they really want to finish strong.”

Fox Lane hopes the win over Hastings is the start of a big finish with a good chance to win in the final five games. After the victory over Hastings, Fox Lane was set to face Sleepy Hollow on the road on Oct. 13, and then return home against Byram Hills on Oct. 15. The Foxes then travel to White Plains on Oct. 17, and wrap up the regular season at home against Carmel on Monday, Oct. 19.