The Pelham field hockey team created more scoring threats, but Bow made its chances count, earning a 2- 0 road victory. Although the Pythons spent most of the afternoon on the attack, the Falcons scored a goal in each half, defeating Pelham on Friday, Sept. 12.

Bow’s Kristen Chulada corralled a loose ball in front of the net and pounded it home, giving the Falcons a 1-0 advantage heading into the half. Falcons goalies Lydia Crisp and Sarah Starempfer split time in net, combining for the shutout.

“The defense’s ability to stop all of those chances was amazing, and the star of the game was obviously the defensive line,” said Bow’s head coach, Tracy Berube. “Even though a lot of the times they created those chances, they can back themselves up.”

For Pelham’s head coach, Linda Koehler, it was frustrating to see her team on offense so frequently without cracking the scoreboard.

“(We) dominated that game, but we were caught flat,” said Koehler. “It’s the second effort to put those back in (the net) that we need. We just need to learn how to win, and it goes back to having confidence.”

Berube agreed the Pythons controlled the flow of play, despite what the scoreboard indicated.

“We had to bring it back to basics,” she said. “I think they outplayed us, so you have to focus on going slow, making passes and hoping they find a rhythm. I can’t tell you what this is doing for our morale. Hopefully it gives them the confidence they needed.”

In the second half, Pelham continued pressing for the equalizer inside the Bow offensive circle, but Julia Romano added her first goal of the season with 4:38 remaining to seal the victory.

Romano had missed the majority of the preseason as well as Bow’s first three regular season games with an ankle sprain.

With the win, Bow improved to 1-2-1 for the year. The loss dropped Pelham to 1-2 on the young season.

Ali Meagher, Lindsay Davis and Kelly Knepper anchored the Bow defense to help blank Pelham, while Devon Lamoreux and Kally Riddinger kept the Pythons in the game on defense.

Koehler said it was Bow’s ability to switch from defense to offense that was difficult to stop.

“They transition very well from defense to offense, and they did it very quickly,” she said. “They took advantage of their opportunities.”