On Saturday, Montclair Varsity Field Hockey suffered a devastating defeat to Bridgewater-Raritan (BR) in the First Round of states. The score was still knotted at 2-2 after double OT, so the game went to a penalty shootout, which Montclair lost 2-0. Montclair dominated offensively and defensively in Q1, as they created many opportunities to score and nearly did multiple times, and they shut down BR’s offense at the same time. BR used a more defensive game plan in an attempt to shut down Montclair’s powerhouse offense, which is one of the main reasons for their 13-5-2 record. BR’s game plan was successful in preventing Montclair from scoring, but they also had to play a fully counterattack-centric offense because of their focus on defense. Q1 finished 0-0, but Montclair had all the momentum and seemed destined to take the first lead of the game. However, BR actually took the first lead 4 minutes into Q2, on a counterattack goal in which 1 of the 2 players who created almost all of BR’s offense, ran past Montclair’s defense on the right flank, and took a shot into the bottom left corner that senior Goalkeeper Elke Brown had almost no chance to save. However, the momentum didn’t shift to BR after taking a 1-0 lead as Montclair maintained the momentum they previously had, and started to generate even better scoring opportunities. Just 2 minutes after falling behind 1-0, Montclair tied the game on a goal from sophomore Ceci Cowart, which was assisted by junior Avery Dollard. Cowart dribbled the ball past BR’s defense on the left side and placed a shot into the near post corner. Montclair didn’t stop there, and they continued to generate more great chances, one of which senior captain Hannah Saraisky nearly capitalized on only 3 minutes after Montclair’s first goal. However, BR continued to stay afloat offensively, as they almost scored again with 5 minutes left in Q3 off of a penalty corner. A weak shot was sent goalbound but eventually fell to a BR player with a great opportunity to score from close range. Again, Elke Brown made a great save as she did so many times this game and this season. BR created a couple more chances towards the end of Q3, but all of these chances were shut down by Montclair’s defense or Elke. Montclair also continued to apply pressure until Q3 concluded, including a shot from Ceci that she created on her own. However, because Ceci’s momentum was taking her away from the goal, BR’s GK was able to make the save, and the quarter ended with the score tied 1-1. Both teams entered Q4 seeming like they could walk away with the victory, thus the final quarter of regulation was just as intense as one would expect for such an important game for both teams. Montclair struck first just 3 minutes into the quarter, with an impressive goal from freshman Tessa Angelillo, which she finished off with a very impressive shot from a difficult angle. She was assisted by Ceci Cowart, who continued to lead Montclair’s offense. This goal gave Montclair a 2-1 lead with 12 minutes left in regulation, and Montclair continued to create chances following this goal. However, BR once again caught Montclair off guard as they tied the game at 2-2 3 minutes later, on a goal that came out of left field. It had seemed that Montclair would continue to dominate and finish the game still leading, but BR had other plans. They took advantage of a penalty corner for the second time, after the ball ricocheted around near the goal and fell right to a BR player less than a yard from the goal. Both teams created chances for the rest of the period, but neither were able to score their 3rd, so the game went into a sudden-death 10-minute 7v7 OT period. The first OT period was electric, which is somewhat expected when each team loses 4 players. This led to weaker defenses, and both teams had many chances to end each other’s seasons but were unable to by the end of the 10 minutes. Montclair certainly created chances of their own, but BR had the edge in the period, as Elke was forced to save the team’s season multiple times. The second OT period was more of the same, and both teams seemed exhausted, as most of Montclair’s starters for OT had played the entire game. Montclair seemed lucky to still have the opportunity to win entering the shootout, which was surprising given how much of the game went. Regardless, the game entered a best-of-five shootout, where each player had 8 seconds to dribble up to the goal in a 1v1 with the goalie, and actually scoring is much harder than it sounds. After singlehandedly keeping Montclair in the game in both of the OT periods, GK Elke Brown was finally unable to completely save her team, as she conceded on both of BR’s first two attempts. Montclair went on to miss their first 2 shots, putting them down 2-0 and making their chances to win seem grim. However, Elke was able to save BR’s next 2 shots, giving Montclair a second chance. Unfortunately, they didn’t capitalize on this chance either, as they also missed the next 2 shots, giving BR the win 2-0 in shootouts. Montclair had a fantastic season, finishing 13-5-2 and above 500 in conference play. But their record seemingly didn’t work in their favor in the seeding for the state tournament, as this loss came to a BR team who is 4-13-1 on the year. However, BR certainly wasn’t a bad team, or else they simply wouldn’t have been able to maintain a competitive game with Montclair. You wouldn’t be wrong in assuming that this loss can be largely attributed to BR’s unconventional style of play in comparison to Montclair’s high energy, high press, and aggressive play style, and Montclair was simply unable to adjust to BR’s defensive scheme.