Pikesville Field Hockey Scores First Win

After dropping its first two games of the season, the Pikesville field hockey team got on the winning side of the ledger last week as the  rolled to a 5-2 victory over Carver A&T.

Pikesville started out with a tough schedule, going against two good teams before faring much better against the Wildcats.

The Panthers lost to Class 3A North Region runner-up Hereford, 4-0, and dropped a 4-1 decision to local rival Franklin to start the 2011 season. Hereford won the state title in 2009 while Franklin was the fifth seed in that same North Region last season.

However, the Carver game opened Pikesville's Baltimore County league schedule, and coach Holly Warner is hoping for bigger things this fall. Pikesville finished 4-8 last year and lost to Catoctin in the Class 1A West Region semifinals, playing a tough schedule.

“We have a lot of experience returning this year, so we’re very optimistic for a winning record for the first time in several years,” Warner said.

Since the school didn’t field a junior varsity team the past few seasons, Pikesville will shift from Division I to Division II in county competition. That should give the Panthers a bit of an easier schedule and allow them grow as the season goes on.

“We have the strength and the skills to compete,” Warner said. “We just need to make sure we are putting it all together each time we take the field.”

Pikesville’s biggest positive might be the fact that it has eight returning starters and eight seniors on this team. Seniors and Rachael Siegel-Berele are the captains and have solid stick skills. Classmates Mackenzy Kaplan and Laurie Fisher should be strong on defense with senior goalie Alysaa Heilbrunn anchoring from the back.

The Panthers also are hoping for some scoring from junior Lacey Kurlander since she is shifting from the midfield to forward this season. That move certainly looked good in the Carver game as Kurlander scored three times to lead the way.

Holly Given scored the only goal in the Hereford game and added her second of the season in this contest. Ryann Plotkin also scored against Carver. The victory was a good offensive display for the Panthers—the question now is if they can keep it going.

“We did a good job there,” said Pikesville assistant coach Gerard Filosa. "We played well."