As the season changes to Fall, the Northampton field hockey team has passed the 2/3 mark of their 2022 season with a 8-4 record overall and 6-3 in the EPC.

Their latest home game was a 4-0 win over Freedom last Friday on Joan Kremus field.

On paper, the Kids appeared to be the stronger team going into the game and while they dominated the first period, earning 10 corners, the score at the first buzzer was still 0-0.

That all changed just over a minute into the second quarter as their 11th corner was the charm. Sydney Sugra knocked home an assist from Kendall Iasiello to stake Northampton to a 1-0 lead. The Kids continued to dominate play yet could not expand their lead before halftime.

At the intermission Northampton led in corners 13-0, in shots on goal 9-0, and on the scoreboard 1-0.

Freedom upped their offensive pressure in the third period generating a trio of corners and a pair of shots on goal. The Kids’ All-Star goalkeeper Kadee Schrader handled the chances without incident.

Meanwhile, Northampton’s offense found the cage twice in the quarter, both times during the run of play. Kendall Iasiello scored off an assist by her sister Raegan 28 seconds into the second half. Lauren Reznick scored at the 11:19 mark to put the Kids up 3-0. Kendall Iasiello picked up her second assist of the game on the goal.

In the fourth quarter, Northampton cranked up its defensive intensity and held the Patriots without a shot over the final 15 minutes. Captain Erin Dumbach scored the last goal of the game at the 8:51 mark with an assist from Sugra.

Head coach Carrie Saul assessed the team as they progress into the regular season’s closing stretch.

“We have a huge junior class, so to put our passing sequences in play, understanding where to move, getting numbers around the ball – I think they’re starting to understand how to move together,” she said. “We’re still improving and working on getting those second and third efforts around the goal.”

The Kids only have one game in the next seven days, but it is date that has been circled on their calendars since the schedule was released. On Tuesday, Northampton travels to Nazareth to take on a Blue Eagles’ squad that ended their EPC tournament in overtime last year.

Junior Raegan Iasiello described what downing Nazareth would mean to her.

“I would cry tears of joy if we beat them this year,” she said. “Nazareth was one of our biggest competitors last year. We lost to them twice in overtime. If we beat them this year, I’m going to be so excited.