Callista Popp’19 lunges for ball. (Inji Kang’19 /Media)

The girls field hockey team finished its regular season this past week with three impressive victories. One win was on their Senior Night, which also honored Coach Anne Horton’s 500th win.

Going into Senior Night on Wednesday, October 11, Coach Horton stood at 499 career victories. To honor their team and their coach, the Vikings put in their all to make this Horton’s 500th career victory. After an outstanding first half, the girls were leading 6-0 against opponent Lancaster. Academy had some fun and switched up their roster, forcing forwards to play defense and even getting goalie Kelley-Marie Antoine’18 on offense. 

Academy widened its lead to win a 9-0 against Lancaster, and having a blast to boot. Freshmen Regan Cornelius and Charlotte Adams, juniors Carolyn Bowman (2) and Mercedes Crestanello, and seniors Maddie Deascentis (2) and Angel Watkins (2) all contributed to the Vikings’ victory. After the game, both teams honored their seniors, (Liana Shiroma, Deascentis, Olivia Ryan, Watkins, and Antoine) and held an impromptu celebration of Horton’s 500th win.

Academy kept its momentum going into its game on Friday, October 13, against Shaker Heights. Although Shaker Heights fought hard, Academy beat them 3-0 (goals by Regan Cornelius’21, DeAscentis, and Carolyn Bowman’19).

Shaker Heights clashed with Ursuline Academy on Academy’s home turf on Saturday, October 14. After a short break, Ursuline was ready to take on the Vikings. Both teams were evenly matched at first, but Academy soon took the lead. The game ended 2-0 in Academy’s favor, with Bowman and DeAscentis scoring for the Vikings.

With a stunning  14 wins and 2 losses, the Vikings are seeded second in Columbus. Due to the nature of the bracket, they will not face first-seed Thomas Worthington until the 5th and final round of the state tournament.

The first round of the post-season tournament pits the Vikings against 15th-seed Dublin Coffman on Tuesday, October 17.