As the sun waned in the west and the shade from the nearby trees crept across the field hockey turf, Sutton junior Rose Grenache drove the ball down the right side of the field, penetrating the shadows and Hamilton-Wenham’s 25-yard zone.

At this point in the game, both teams on Wednesday battled for three-and-a-half quarters to a zero-zero draw in the Round of 16 of the Division 4 MIAA field hockey tournament. The pressure was mounting on the undefeated Suzies, who had the majority of the scoring opportunities in the game, but they just could not crack the Generals’ junior goalkeeper Maeve Clark. The longer the game went without a Sutton goal, the odds increased for the underdog Generals to steal the game.

“You know, it’s so tough because in those moments, it’s just such a nail biter,” said Sutton coach Sarah Bellavance as she watched Clark make a dozen high-quality point-blank saves in the game. “Their goalie was amazing. She was diving, making save after save. She certainly is probably the best goalie we have seen thus far this season, so my hats off to her.” 

The Suzies celebrate their fourth quarter goal. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba

But then with about eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Grenache made her run and pushed the ball deep into Hamilton-Wenham’s zone near the top of the circle. She quickly twisted her body to cock her stick back and then uncoiled a slap pass across the circle to senior forward Emma Farrell, who was inside the circle slightly to the right of penalty shot spot and about eight yards from the Generals’ goal. 

Clark read the play and aggressively came out of her goal about four yards to simultaneously meet Farrell’s shot attempt. Clark slid to the ground to stop the shot, but gave up a juicy rebound to Sutton senior Audrey Hayes, who pushed the ball back into Clark’s pads. The stout goalkeeper turned that shot aside as well, but still could not corral the rebound as it bounced to her left. As Clark regained her feet, Grenache collected the rebound, but instead of taking the shot, she saw Hayes open to Clark’s right and made a quick pass to try to catch the goalie out of position.

“I think it was a pass from Rose from the right side to the middle,” Hayes said after the game. However, the pass got caught in Hayes’ feet for a moment which allowed Clark a brief second to read the play. She quickly dove back to her right with her stick outstretched. Once Hayes gained possession of the ball, she shot it high attempting to hit it over the sprawling goalkeeper, but Clark managed to get a piece of the ball.

“It kind of went up in the air over the goalie and then landed behind her,” Hayes said. The ball rested behind the prone Clark a couple yards in front of a wide-open goal mouth. A scramble for the dead ball ensued as four blue-shirt defenders, Sarah McMahon, Sophia Zerilli, Marley Shea, and Sofia Montoya, surrounded the sole Sutton white shirt, Farrell, who had the inside position.

“Then Emma had that shot and finished right in the corner,” Hayes said.

The Sutton players erupted with emotion once they finally realized they were able to punch one in. “It was a relief,” Farrell said after the game. “It was definitely a rush of energy when it finally all came together. We definitely felt very excited about it. It was definitely a team goal. I was just in the right place at the right time. It feels good to finally put it in because we were on our toes the whole game, trying so hard ‘cause the score was obviously tied the whole game, so when it hit the back of the net, it was great, especially after having that many shots on net.” 

As a result, the Suzies move on to the quarterfinals to face fourth ranked Ipswich on the road on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. As they head to

Senior Emma Farrell battles for a loose ball. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba

Ipswich, Sutton remains undefeated with a record of 18-0-1. 

“One of the good things about us is that we don’t sleep on anybody,” Bellavance said. “So, you know you just kind of have to dig even deeper now that you’re playing a higher level of opponent [in the tournament] and you’re playing for do or die. And you know, we just kept plugging away today and tried to find the opportunities where we could and to go all season long and not have a loss, we’re now in a situation where it’s very easy for your season to just be over in the blink of an eye. I was at the edge of my seat this whole game.”

Sutton’s goalkeeper, Cara Lambert, may not have been peppered by shots like Clark, but when she was called upon to make a stop, she came through in the clutch. For instance, prior to Farrell’s go-ahead goal, the Generals had a fantastic opportunity to score when sophomore forward Ava Vautor led a breakaway down the center of the field. She had a step on Sutton defender Sophia Distefano as she dribbled the ball about three yards to the right of Lambert. Vautor fired toward the far post, but Lambert stood tall and turned it aside with a phenomenal left pad save. The Sutton defenders then cleaned up the rebound. Aside from a few penalty corner opportunities later, Hamilton-Wenham would not mount a significant scoring chance the rest of the game.

 “We absolutely have a strong goalie,” Bellavance said. “She’s stepped up in some of the most critical moments of the games.” Lambert has made similar saves in big moments, including three straight saves in the fourth quarter of the recent Central Mass championship game against Littleton where she stopped three straight shots within a five-minute period to preserve the Suzies’ 1-0 lead and eventual victory in that game. “You know, she made three saves that whole game [and four saves against the Generals], but they’re all in the fourth quarter … She may not have to perform every second, but when she does, she definitely shines.” 

Senior defender Sophia Distefano has the back of her goalkeeper, Cara Lambert. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba

Distefano said there’s more to playing the goalie position than making saves. “Even if she’s not making saves, she’s such a key player on the field because she’s always talking and directing everyone like where players are open and where to go, which is very helpful.”

Senior Liz Marios said Lambert’s presence “is like having a coach on the field, ‘cause she can see everyone so she’s really good with directing us. If you don’t see someone behind you, she’ll tell you.”

The game in the first half was more evenly played with Hamilton-Wenham. The Generals hit some early long passes for breakouts and forced some penalty corner opportunities. At halftime, Sutton made adjustments to turn the tide in their favor.

“One of the things that Hamilton did was to play the long ball,” Bellavance said. “If it’s not an aerial, it’s a long ball along the ground that they just try to jump everybody up field and to try to catch us off guard in our own end. So, one of the things that we tried to adjust to was attacking their transition. They didn’t really transition well when we moved the ball. So, why not just try to beat them at their own game and hit the ball right back and try to let the forwards take care of it.”

“Once we were finally able to understand how they played, we were able to get on top of them ‘cause we knew where we had to be and we knew how to move around them,” Distefano said. “I feel like in the second half, we kind of realized this is do or die. If we don’t show up right here, right now, then we’re going home and our season’s over, especially for the seniors.”

Sutton has only allowed two goals the entire season. Bellavance said her smothering defensive line is led by senior Tessa Medeiros and Distefano. “They have tremendous stickwork, a hunger, and a drive to just be better,” she said. “We go into every game saying, ‘hey, don’t even let it go within our own 25,’ you know? And if we get a corner, let’s not allow the next team to get a corner so their instincts are there. They see the field and whether or not they are playing the ball, they’re always involved. They’re just there speaking out. They’re communicating to the mids, to the forwards and it all really starts with them.

“Our offense puts them [the goals] in,” she said. “But it all really does come down to how we are defensively as a team. That’s what’s gotten us this far.” 

It may start with their defense, but Sutton’s three talented forwards have been finishing all season. Farrell led the team with five goals in the postseason and was the fourth best scorer in Central Mass with 16 goals and 15 assists in the regular season. Senior Gabi Couture leads the team with 17 goals and three assists playing on the left side of the field with Grenache posting 13 points on the right side. 

“We know how each other works,” said Grenache. “We’ve played together for so long that we know what the other is doing without even talking … We can figure it out based on body language. We just know where each other is going to be and what each other is going to do. I’ll just know when Emma is going to be right in front of me and when I look, she’s right there.”

Ask anyone involved with Sutton field hockey and they will say it’s their closeness off the field as a group that has been the major key to their success.

“This is our friend group,” said Grenache. “We always hang out at lunch and we all hang out after school every day. We all care about each other.”

“I’m just very thankful for this group,” Bellavance said. “They have a lot of love for each other. They have respect for each other and that’s carried us, for sure.”

Winning together – From the left are Audrey Hayes, Sophia Distefano, Cara Lambert, Rose Grenache, Emma Farrell, Tessa Medeiros, Jenni Gramstorff, Liz Marios, and Gabi Couture. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba