Sports

Clippers field hockey shut out by Southampton


GARRET MEADE PHOTO Kerri Hands of Greenport/Southold/Shelter Island tried to weave her way through Southampton's defense.


The area in front of a field hockey goal is anything but a lonely place. An aspiring goal scorer will find her way impeded by plenty of congestion, with sticks, legs and bodies seemingly everywhere.

“It’s crazy,” said Emily Wesnofske, a sophomore right midfielder for the Southampton Mariners. “You’re just thinking, shoot, get it in, or if it’s defense, just get it out.”

That’s one reason why scoring is difficult and goals can be hard to come by, even for talented teams like Southampton. The Mariners have good stick skills and have put opponents on their heels, but their inability to finish has cost them at times.

“If you can’t put the ball in the net, it doesn’t matter,” said Southampton Coach Kim Hannigan.

Southampton kept pressuring the Greenport/Southold/Shelter Island Clippers in a Suffolk County Division III game on Monday and wondering if a goal would ever come. Then the Mariners could finally breathe a sigh of relief when Emily Wesnofske broke the ice 3 minutes 20 seconds into the second half, sending Southampton on to a 2-0 win at Greenport High School.

Click to read full Suffolk Sports story.