This past week was a busy one for the Lady Spartans. They started the week off against a familiar foe in St. Agnes Academy and the JV team played in the Cy Fair Tournament on Friday and Saturday, while the Varsity Team finished off the week with two matches against Bridgeland and Friendswood on Saturday.

Varsity vs. Bridgeland

On Saturday, the Stratford Varsity Girls hosted the Bridgeland Bears at W. W. Emmons Natatorium. The Bears scored a goal halfway through the first quarter, but sophomore goalie Emmie Hanvey was fantastic in the cage with 4 saves to keep Stratford close. In the second quarter it started off much the same with Hanvey making two key 5-meter penalty saves, which got the Spartans going in the right direction as junior Sarah Beth Roady found sophomore Elizabeth Conner on not one, but two consecutive goals to take the lead 2-1. Conner wasn’t done yet and scored on a great pass from junior Hana Riley to make the score 3-1 at halftime against one of the top programs in the area.

In the 3rd quarter, Bridgeland fought back hard and tied the game up at 3-3. Late in the third, sophomore Leah Claire Nall was brought into the match to help slow down the Bears attack. Senior co-captain Lily Askounis showed great vision and made a key outlet pass to Riley, who found Conner for another score to bring the match to 4-4.

The fourth quarter was really tough as Bridgeland pulled ahead 6-4. The Spartans could have thrown in the towel, but they would not go away easily, and sophomore Molly Kate Minyard had a nice assist to Conner on the right side for her fifth goal of the match. Too bad we couldn’t play another quarter because the Spartans gave the Bears all they could handle. Final score: Spartans 5, Bridgeland 6

Varsity vs. Friendswood

The Varsity Girls followed up by hosting a match against the Friendswood Mustangs in the afternoon, and the large Friendswood crowd was ready for some action as they scored a quick goal to take the lead. The Spartans were up to the challenge and sophomore Elizabeth Conner found senior co-captain Lily Askounis for a nice score on the interior. Friendswood fired right back on a nice interior play of their own to go up 2-1. Strong interior defense led junior Sarah Beth Roady to turn into a nice pass and shoot when Conner made a smart pass back to Roady to even up the score 2-2 at the end of the first quarter.

The Spartans came out fast in the 2nd quarter and junior Avery Garcia found the advantage on the right side and was able to get not one, not two, but three great assists to Conner to go up 5-3. Sophomore Leah Claire Nall provided key minutes to really slow down the Friendswood interior play and to top off a great second quarter. Garcia scored off a pass from Roady, and the Spartans took a 6-3 lead into half.

Friendswood came out fast in the 3rd quarter after making some adjustments and began to work the ball down low and scored to narrow the gap to 6-4. Stratford’s’ Conner then decided to fight fire with fire and found Askounis for a strong interior play of our own. But Friendswood would not be denied and scored three unanswered goals in the interior to bring the match to 7-7 at the end of the third. Sophomore Emmie Hanvey was under fire in the second half of the match, but provided great play and had 8 saves on the match. The Spartans had a few chances in the fourth quarter, but strong goalie play from the Mustangs prevented our offense from finding any rhythm. Final score: Stratford 7- Friendswood 9.

JV vs. St. Agnes

Last Tuesday night, Varsity and JV went up against the St. Agnes Tigers, a perennial powerhouse. With their intensity and strength, you’d never know the JV Team was competing against a team with nearly THREE FULL SQUADS. The Tigers popped in two points quickly as the Spartans took a second to adjust, then freshman Jill Hyland scored off a fellow-freshman Piper Barrow pass: 1-2 after the first period. The game was tied 2-2 after Hyland made a smart pass to sophomore Lilli Oteiza, who finessed in an inside stuff. Sophomore Bella Smith kept up her end, making impressive giant saves to keep the Spartans in the game. Stratford went ahead 4-3 in the third after 1) soph LC Nall fed the ball to freshman Luisa Becerra for a goal and 2) Oteiza made a power steal and passed to Hyland for an inside sneak. Smart, aggressive defense and active, exciting offense was the signature in the fourth for both teams. With little time on the clock and St. Agnes up by one, freshman Emily Pace muscled her way to the ball for a pass to Oteiza inside. The shot rattled around a bit before deciding to land in the cage. Whew! The game ended in a 5-5 tie. Felt like a win. Outstanding, tireless effort by the entire team, but especially sophomores Nall, Oteiza, and Smith and freshmen Barrow, Becerra, Hyland, Pace, Audrey Bown, and Abby Middlebrooks.

Varsity vs. St. Agnes

Another exciting felt-like-a-win game for Varsity who quickly learned the Tigers’ claws were out. Senior co-captain Emma Jackson put the first point on the board after a strong steal and drive to the goal. 1-0 Stratford. Sophomore Elizabeth Conner set the score at 2-1 with a goal off her own rebound. Despite aggressive defense by all, especially juniors Avery Garcia and Sarah Beth Roady, St. Agnes finished off the first, up by two. Shots just didn’t find the hole, but the hustle roiled the pool. Jackson blocked and stole and forced turnovers to finally ace a 5-meter penalty shot: 3-5 Tigers.

The Spartans continued to make waves with more intensity from junior Hana Riley. A forced turnover by Garcia found Jackson, who passed off to senior co-captain Lily Askounis to bring the score to 4-5. Sophomore Emmie Hanvey worked her goalie magic with back-to-back monster blocks to hold St. Agnes at bay. The Tigers were ferocious, but the Spartans stayed strong scoring 2 in the third; Riley stole the ball and lofted it to Jackson, then turned around a couple plays later for another Riley to Jackson goal. 6-8 end of third. The final score isn’t the story. Elizabeth Conner pulled out her perfect spin shot from the left side: 7-8...then a couple massive Hanvey blocks...but Tiger tenacity and some Spartan mistakes took the game to 7-11. More roiling water. Jackson found Askounis for one, then sophomore Molly Kate Minyard kept her poise amid a Tiger goalie ejection and popped one in. Final score: Spartans 9, Tigers 11

JV CY FAIR TOURNAMENT

JV vs. Cy Ranch

On Friday the Stratford Girls JV Team fought hard but came up short against the Cy Ranch Mustangs in their first match of the tournament. This young team is really making strides and starting to gel and trust each other in the pool. The Spartans found themselves behind 0-5 at half, but fought back in the third quarter with a strong score by freshman Jill Hyland after a long assist from sophomore Emmie Hanvey. Hanvey played great on both ends of the pool all match and was able to score after being fed by sophomore Lilli Oteiza to narrow the gap to 2-7 at the end of the third.

Hanvey wasn’t done yet; she came up with a key steel and hit a huge shot from deep to begin the fourth quarter. Defensive intensity really picked up for the Spartans with great contributions from freshmen Piper Barrow, Luisa Becerra, Audrey Brown, and Emily Pace and sophomores Abby Middlebrook and Leah Claire Nall. While the score may not show it, the player that really stepped up to the challenge was sophomore Bella Smith. Smith had 8 saves and kept her team in the match. Final score: Stratford 3, Cy Ranch 7.

JV vs. Jersey Village

In their second match of the JV Tournament, the Spartans battled against the Jersey Village Falcons. The Spartans were clicking on all cylinders in the first quarter and freshman Piper Barrow found freshman Luisa Becerra for a quick strike. Stratford then extended its lead when sophomore Lilli Oteiza took the ball the length of the pool to go up 2-0. Great passing from Barrow throughout the match, and she was able to find sophomore Emmie Hanvey to finish the second quarter up 3-1.

Jersey Village shored up their defense in the second quarter, and the match turned into a slug fest. Sophomore Bella Smith was unrattled in the cage and provided 8 saves throughout the match. Sophomore Leah Claire Nall provided strong interior defense and Hanvey was active and had several deflections to go into the half with a 3-2 lead.

During the third quarter, the Spartans continued the pressure and Hanvey provided relentless defense to go along with a goal,  thanks to a nice assist from freshman Jill Hyland. Stratford started the fourth quarter on the right track when Nall scored a nice interior goal off a pass by freshman Emily Pace. While the effort was strong, Jersey Village was able to bounce back and scored three unanswered goals to pull ahead in the final minutes of play. Final score: Stratford 5, Jersey Village 6.

JV vs. Bridgeland

The second day of the JV Tournament started with a game against a strong opponent in Bridgeland High School. Less than two minutes into the game, Bridgeland scored on a fast-break, making it 1-0. Halfway through the same quarter they scored again on yet another two-on-one fast-break, proving to be a fast-swimming team. They scored twice again in the first quarter, making the score 5-0. Sophomore Bella Smith kept the game from getting out of hand by making some nice saves in goal. In the first half, Bridgeland had 12 shots on goal to Stratford’s 4 shots.

The third quarter opened with Smith making a nice save, getting a fast outlet pass to freshman Emily Pace, who recorded an assist with a fast pass to freshman Jill Hyland, who scored the team’s first goal of the game. Bridgeland led 9-1 after three quarters and they dominated the time of possession.

The fourth quarter started again with a couple of nice saves by goalie Smith, one which led to another Stratford goal after a fast outlet pass to Pace, who earned another assist, as freshman Piper Barrow scored making the score 10-2. The second half was productive, however, as Stratford scored on their only two shots on goal, with Bridgeland having 16 shots on goal in the second half. But Stratford was outmatched as the final score was 14-2.

JV vs. Cy Woods

In the Spartans' final game of the Cy Fair JV Tournament, the Spartans faced off against the Cy Woods Wildcats. After starting much the same way, the score at the end of the first quarter was 1-0. Again, kudos to goalie sophomore Bella Smith, who had six blocks in the first quarter alone. The second quarter saw Cy Woods making an unlikely goal from the corner that left even the opposing fans confused. But after taking a 2-0 lead, Stratford rallied back with a goal with 2:30 remaining in the half. This statistician, along with other fans, could not determine who scored the goal, as it was a crowded group fighting hard for control in front of the goal. Cy Woods scored again near the end of the period and led at the half 3-1. This game, however, was much better played than any other this season for the Stratford JV team. They executed on passing, took shots on goal, and played strong defense, and it was apparent the playing time was paying off.

The third quarter was dominated by Stratford as freshman Luisa Becerra scored two goals, one early in the period and one with 1:11 left. This was the result of excellent ball control, strong defense, and good goalie play as Stratford was in full control in the third quarter. In the fourth, Cy Woods scored with only 2:40 left to lead 4-3, however the Spartans never let up and scored with less than a minute on the game clock on a strong goal by sophomore Lilli Oteiza after an assist from Becerra. While the game ended in a 4-4 tie, this was a huge step forward for the JV squad and the girls exited the water smiling excitedly.

The Spartans go up against St Agnes again on Tuesday and face District rival Memorial again on Friday.