Above: Olivia Prior passes to Cat Neville. Photo by Chuck Nadeau 

After playing last weekend in a national high school invitational in Pennsylvania

By Tommy Sprague

It’s been a busy 10 days for the East Greenwich Field Hockey squad. They battled the Cumberland Clippers at home on Sept. 21 to a 10-0 victory. With that decisive win under their belts, the varsity team headed to the Proving Grounds in Conshohocken, Penn., for the Max Field Hockey National High School Invitational where over 60 of the top teams in the country gathered to compete. The only team from Rhode Island, East Greenwich played against teams from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. The driving rain and high winds from Tropical Storm Ophelia battered the players for two days and the competition was fierce. The Avengers left the Proving Grounds with 1 win and 2 losses but with valuable experience against some of the best competition they have faced this season. 

Back at home, the Avengers hosted the North Kingstown Skippers on a beautiful Thursday night under a mystical harvest moon. It was a fitting backdrop as the team paid tribute to Olivia Passaretti, a treasured member of the field hockey team and East Greenwich High School community, who tragically passed away on January 1, 2022. Junior goalie Layla Cameron wore Olivia’s number “0” goalie jersey, which had not been worn since her passing, in remembrance of her wonderful and loving soul. And members of the JV team sold red roses in the stands to raise money for the scholarship created in Olivia’s name.

EG turned their emotion into offensive action and pressed the Skippers with an amazing 12 shots on goal in the first quarter. Junior Catherine Sprague put 2 goals in the net and senior Captain Margaret Neville scored a goal. In the second quarter, NK’s defense began to react to the Avenger’s attack, limiting EG to only 5 shots on goal. However, the Skipper’s offensive push was thwarted by EG’s dominant defense led by senior Captain Catherine Neville, and sophomores Sofia Williston and Lia Cameron. Layla Cameron shut down any attempt NK made at net. At the end of the half, with a Margaret Neville assist, EG’s Catherine Sprague managed to score one additional goal, to make the score 4-0 EG.

In the second half, the Avengers continued their offensive possession creating multiple penalty corner opportunities and eventually adding two more points to the scoreboard. Junior Maeve Kiernan scored her first goal of the evening assisted by Margaret Neville and freshman Lilly Grant, assisted by Megan Kazmier, landed the final point in the Avenger’s win. The game ended in a 6-0 victory over the neighboring Skippers.

The Avengers next face Moses Brown on Monday, Oct. 2, at home at 6:30 p.m. Their last match up ended in an EG loss so the team needs all the fans in the stands to support them against this formidable opponent. One Town, One Team, Go East!

Olivia Prior passing the ball forward. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

The ball goes between the legs of the NK goalkeeper. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Margaret Neville waits for the pass. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

A full moon over the field. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

The team during a half time ceremony honoring Olivia Passaretti. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

The EGHS Field Hockey team in front of the Rocky statue in Philadelphia. They traveled there for a high school invitational competing against 60 of the best field hockey teams in the nation. Submitted photo

Tommy Sprague is a team parent. Our thanks to him for covering Girls LAX. EG News is looking for similarly motivated sports enthusiasts to help us cover other EG sports. If you are interested, contact [email protected]. It’s fun!