With four straight shutouts, John Jay's field hockey team is playoff-ready

Goalie McKenzie Ryder and the John Jay defense have recorded four straight shutout wins. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

Kaitlyn Condon smiles after scoring a goal as she celebrates with Callan Keeley (3). 

Sophia Shaw makes her move to the goal. She scored two goals to lead the Wolves to a win over Bronxville.

By JIM MACLEAN 

Every season is a journey and you want to finish strong. And the John Jay varsity field hockey team is certainly showing signs of a strong finish after closing out the regular season with four straight shutout victories.

John Jay scored a 5-0 win at home over Bronxville on Oct. 19, to finish with an 11-3 record heading into the playoffs, and the Wolves scored a big 2-0 win over Horace Greeley at home on Oct. 15, to win the league title for the first time in coach Debbi Walsh’s 11 seasons.

“We’re on a pretty good roll, it takes a season to grow and build, and we’re starting to see the team that we can be,” Walsh said after the win over Bronxville. “This game was so important, that is a really good program, and we played really well tonight against a very strong team. The Greeley game was also a big win for us; it’s always a big game, always a battle against them. That win gave us the league championship, which I’ve never won since I’ve been here and it’s nice to finally get one. We’re playing well and we have a very strong team, but it’s a clean slate for the playoffs. There are a lot of very good teams and everybody wants it.”

Veteran leadership

John Jay came into the season with a veteran roster featuring several seniors who have been three-year starters on varsity. They have played together for a long time, but the Wolves got off to a slow start. Now, the offense is clicking and the defense has been lights out.

Against Bronxville, senior defender Kaitlyn Condon gave the Wolves the spark they needed to get rolling as she scored a goal at the nine-minute mark to give John Jay a 1-0 lead in the first quarter. Condon moved up on a corner play and she made the most of the opportunity, scoring on a long shot.

“I do play more of a defensive position, but I love to get involved on the offense and that was super exciting to score the goal,” Condon said. “We’re definitely hitting our stride and our chemistry is developing. We have a great group of girls with a senior class that has been playing together for 10 years and we want to finish strong.”

Senior Sophia Shaw scored a pair of goals in the second quarter to give the Wolves a 3-0 halftime lead on their way to the 5-0 win over the Broncos. 

A hat trick for Shaw

Shaw, who will be playing field hockey in college at Skidmore next fall, is heating up as she also scored a hat trick in the Wolves’ previous game on Oct. 17, in a 6-0 win at Pearl River.

“Our offense is doing a great job working together using the give-and-go, we’re communicating and we’ve improved so much,” Shaw said. “We’re really excited for the playoffs, this team has been together for so long and we all want it so bad, we have a hunger to win and everyone is focused and working well together.”

Senior captain Callan Keeley scored a pair of goals in the second half to wrap up the 5-0 win for the Wolves.

At Pearl River, Catherine Natko, Caitlin Brennan, Harper Christian, and Keeley each scored a goal to go along with Shaw’s hat trick in the win over the Pirates.

Taking the title

The big game was Thursday under the lights at home as John Jay hosted rival Horace Greeley and emerged with the win to wrap up the league title. Caitlin Brennan and Shaw each scored a goal, with Finja Degl and Keeley getting the assists. Goalie McKenzie Ryder recorded seven saves in goal for the shutout, including her 250th career save for the Wolves.

“She’s unbelievable, we’re fortunate to have her, a starter in goal the last two years and three years on varsity,” Walsh said of Ryder. “She’s constantly improving her skills. Especially in the big games like Greeley, she is on and keeps us in the game.”

John Jay also scored a 6-0 win on the road at Clarkstown on Oct. 13, as the Wolves rolled into the playoffs with four straight shutouts and five straight wins. The first round of the Section 1 tournament was set to get under way Friday, Oct. 23.