Junior Emma Barry’s late goal rattled the boards of the field hockey net with force, after good tandem passing with Sydney Brown and Elizabeth Thompson, and finally gave Concord High a mark on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.
By then, however, fewer than three minutes remained in the contest and the Crimson Tide could not overturn the imminent result. Concord opened its season at Rollins Park in Concord on Monday, falling to Bishop Guertin, 2-1.
Concord finished with a 6-7-3 record last season, just below BG (8-8-0) in the Division I standings and may have dropped a crucial tiebreaker with Monday’s loss, if it comes down to that later on in the season. Then again, it’s only game one, so no need to overreact.
The Tide didn’t overreact, either. Barry and Brown know they kept Monday’s game close and have plenty of runway ahead to keep improving. It was good to get a full 60 minutes of D-I competition under their belts to get rolling, they said.
“We did show improvement in the third and fourth (quarters), and I think we can carry that into our next couple of games,” Barry said.
Concord’s first two quarters were shaky. Bishop Guertin scored a goal in each and generated four corners by exploiting a tightly packed defense in the shooting circle. Both of Bishop Guertin’s goals, however, came from open play after forcing Concord goalie Brooke Nelson to move for a save, grabbing rebounds in both instances to score with more space.
Concord senior Sydney Brown looked to clear balls from Concord’s half after dropping lower in the second half against Bishop Guertin. Credit: CHIP GRIFFIN / Photos by Chip 
Concord senior Natalie Pochopin shoots with force, elevating the ball to get it past Bishop Guertin’s backline. Credit: CHIP GRIFFIN / Photos by Chip
The second half was really where Concord found a groove.
A few tactical switches by coach Nicole Armaganian at the half helped open up the game for the Tide and shifted the momentum the hosts’ way. Brown and Barry switched their midfield assignments, which worked to open up the game more, and they were able to get the ball to forwards.
Armaganian said her main focus is on teaching the technical intricacies of the game and letting the creativity of her players flow. She wants to build their confidence up. Once Concord’s returners who find themselves new positions and new faces can sharpen their skills a bit more, the game will come to them.
“I think working on our give-and-go’s, definitely something we talked about in our meeting after the game and breaking the press,” Brown said about how the team can continue improving.
The Cardinals still outshot Concord and generated more dangerous corner chances, but the Tide’s defense held strong. The corner unit — with Nelson in goal with senior Madison Duffy, junior Ella Charbolowski and freshmen Elizabeth Noel and Julianna Scheffer on defense — did well to contain BG throughout the game.
Concord will pay a visit to Bedford next on Wednesday.