Farmington knocks off Avon 1-0 in CCC field hockey matchup
Farmington field hockey coach Sadie Robinson was happy with her team’s 1-0 win over Avon Tuesday afternoon.
“I don’t think we’ve beaten them in a long time,” she said. “It’s a testament to our seniors.”
Avon has beaten Farmington (2-0) four out of the last six times the two CCC teams have met.
Junior Jennifer Austin scored off a penalty corner in the third quarter, assisted by Sonali Patel, one of the River Hawks’ seven seniors.
“Farmington came to win the game,” Avon coach Terri Ziemnicki said. “That was the huge difference.”
It was the season opener for Avon and the Falcons’ first full season on their artificial turf field. Last year, Avon, like everybody else, played a shortened 12-game season due to the pandemic.
Avon was one of the last area field hockey teams to get a turf field.
“It’s a beautiful field,” Ziemnicki said. “It was nice to join ‘The Turf Club.’ We just got the lights this year. We’ll have two games under the lights.”
Avon lost 14 seniors from a team that lost only one game last year, to Granby, the 2019 Class S champion.
The Falcons had plenty of chances Tuesday, with eight shots on goal and a couple of wide-open looks but couldn’t convert. The Farmington defense held strong and goalkeeper Lauren Frank made five saves.
“We didn’t play well at all today,” Ziemnicki said. “We’ve played well and looked good but not today. First-game jitters, new underclassmen trying to prove they can do it. … We lost 14 seniors. We’re replacing all that. I always say, ‘It’s like a pot of soup that’s simmering. It needs to simmer until the soup tastes the way it’s going to taste.’
“Last year, every day, we played with such gratitude. We didn’t want to miss a moment. I think now it’s like, ‘Oh, we’re getting our 16 games.’ But you got to do it the same way, you’ve got to it with the attitude of last year.”
Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com.
