As dusk settled on the Falcon’s nest Wednesday night, the Wallkill Valley Rangers and the Jefferson Falcons prepared for a field hockey showdown under the lights. When the smoke cleared, the Rangers outshot the Falcons resulting in a 5-2 victory.

Two minutes into the game Wallkill’s #7 Adreanna Nordland opened fire on Kate Fuess.  This goal is only 1 of 4 that she would have by the end of the night. Twelve minutes later into the first half, Nordland scores again, this time the ball trickling in.

The Falcons called a tactical timeout, and immediately Jefferson’s defense mades some corrections. Great free hits from Jefferson’s backs, Emily Voorhees and Colleen Small, began to open up the game. Unfortunately, early on, the Falcon forwards could not own open spaces in the midfield.

Coach Ryan’s half time talk must have been taken to heart because the Falcons came out scoring within the first 2 minutes of the second half.

Left wing, Lauren Ferguson deflected high over Wallkill’s Emily Stukenborg’s right shoulder. Jefferson fans roared from the football stands, which were recently decorated for senior night. Enthusiasm was high for the next 10 minutes, and it seemed like the game could turn around at any moment.

Adreanna Norland secured a hat-trick during those precious moments, and the game went to 3-1 with 20 minutes left in the game. Solid midfield play from Jefferson’s Jackie Hyder created several offensive opportunities.

In the moments leading up to the Falcon's second goal, Hyder took a long shot on goal that resulted in a corner play. On that play, senior Colleen Small scored. The Falcons go into the final 14 minutes down only one goal.

This is when things started to heat up; Norland got benched for a green card penalty for high-sticking. A Jefferson and Wallkill player collided, resulting in a minor head injury for the Wallkill player.

Jefferson had a series of turnovers from poor footwork and obstructions. Corner after corner the Rangers unloaded on the Falcon defense. Flyer, Sammi Hatler, and her team of backs successfully stopped several attempts. However, #11 Callista Gorzalis fatally wounded the Falcons’ chance at a comeback with a goal off a corner play.

With three minutes to go in the game, the Falcons did have two more key corner opportunities, but no goals were produced. Then in a bizarre sequence of miscommunications, Wallkill’s Adreanna Norland was able to push in one more final goal past Jefferson’s D. It was with this in mind, that Emily Voorhees commented “one of our main challenges tonight was communication.”

“We played well against a reputable program,” commented Coach Danielle Ryan in a post game interview. The Falcons did come out strong in the second half, as Emily Voorhees pointed out, “there was a great effort in the second half to use our hits and turn them into opportunities to attack up-field.”

In the end, the Falcons came up short on goals, but not on spirit, as seniors were one more time acknowledged at the end of the game for four years of dedication to the program.

The Falcons are now 7-7-1 with 5 games left in the regular game season.

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