The Pierson (Sag Harbor) Whalers defeated their nemesis, the Carle Place Frogs of Nassau County, on Sunday evening to claim their first Long Island field hockey championship since 2015.
While Pierson has won seven consecutive county Class C championships, the dominance of Carle Place has stood in the way of the Long Island title.
And, in the first minute of the game, when Carle Place was awarded a penalty corner, Pierson fans could have been forgiven if they thought this game was headed in the same direction.
But that corner was the Frogs' best scoring opportunity of the match. After that it was all Pierson.
The Whalers went on the attack and stayed on the attack. Caroline Canavan, a senior, streaked down the wing and pushed into Frogs territory. A series of penalty corners followed. On the third corner, seven minutes into the game, after some back and forth between Canavan and Meredith Spolarich, a junior, Canavan took a shot and buried it behind the Carle Place goaltender, Justina Cavallaro.
"I got the ball off the rebound, and when it happened I think we all felt like it was a sign that we had this game. We were all on fire after that," said Canavan, who finished with two goals.
"When Caroline is on, Caroline is on," said Nina Hemby, Pierson's coach. "Her mental drive is really strong. She listens for her teammates; she's looking up for passes. She uses her speed and she can whip that ball."
It was hard to pinpoint the Whalers' greatest strength. Shots came from many players, and they were passing hard and with accuracy. Their play has improved dramatically and quickly, no doubt aided by a week of practice on Southampton High's turf field. Both wings were making strong runs up the line, and the midfield was aggressive, often getting to the ball first.
"I think they relied on each other as a whole group," Hemby said. "Everybody worked together. That got us where we are."
In the middle of the third quarter, for a couple of minutes, the Frogs seemed to gain momentum. They picked up two corners, but couldn't capitalize, shut down by the Pierson defense. For the second game in a row, they played strongly as a trio in front of the freshman goaltender, Cali Wilson, barely letting a shot through.
Wilson was relieved. "I was a little nervous, but our team has improved so much over the last couple of weeks. Our passes are cleaner and we're just moving more as a unit, and I think that made me gain confidence."
By the end of the third quarter, with another goal added by Eleana Merola, a junior who also added an assist on the second Canavan goal, Pierson was up 3-0, which remained the final score, and in full control.
In the fourth, the bench was all hugs, smiles, and coordinated cheers of "Let's go, Pierson!"
The mood may have been lighter, but Pierson never let up. Canavan, running hard run down the field, tumbled and ate turf near the Carle Place goalie. She lay on the ground for a brief moment before Hemby yelled from the sidelines, "Nice try. Get up!"
Pierson ended the game with 15 penalty corners and 17 shots on goal. For their part, the Frogs ended with three corners and only one shot on cage.
When the game ended, Hemby burst into tears. The team mobbed Wilson, the goaltender. A Pierson player shouted, "We did it!" The team laughed, cried, and smiled all at once. Some seemed shocked.
For years, Spolarich has been thinking about this game. Her sister, Catherine, who graduated in 2018, had played for Pierson. In her last field hockey game, the Whalers lost to Carle Place in the county championship.
"I feel really good right now," said Spolarich, who had two assists. "When I was in eighth grade, I promised Catherine that I'd beat Carle Place and we did it."
Spolarich and Canavan, along with Alexus Coward of Carle Place, were named to the all-region team. Pierson will play Whitney Point of Broome County in the semifinal of the state tournament at noon on Saturday at Centereach High School.
