Field hockey: Astrab stops 19 shots but Yorktown edges Panas 1-0 on Popovic goal

CORTLANDT — Usually if you play a game — pretty much any game — and you score only once, you'll leave the field unhappy.

Not so with the Yorktown field hockey team.

Last week, one goal got it a highly unlikely tie with Lakeland.

Earlier this week, in a thunderstorm-shortened game, it beat Bronxville 1-0.

And Thursday, the Huskers' one goal, scored when a shot changed direction, ricocheting in off a defenseman's stick, lifted it to a 1-0 win over Panas.

Yorktown goalie Annie Durante, who had been no less than lights out against Lakeland (Journal News/lohud readers rewarded her for her 25 saves in the 1-1 tie by voting her Field Hockey Player of the Week), didn't have to do anything Thursday.

Yorktown's defense stymied Panas. It didn't have a single shot on net.

Yorktown, in fact, enjoyed an eye-popping 17-1 penalty corner advantage.

That and its 20 shots on goal should have translated into a romp.

And the Huskers would have had just that if not for Panther keeper Kate Astrab.

The senior, who has started in goal for Panas since she was an eighth-grader, stopped 19 shots.

What it means

With the win, Yorktown moved to 5-1-1 on the season.

Panas, which fell to Yorktown 3-0 earlier in the month, is now 2-5-1.

Key plays

Astrab's saves likely would have been enough for a scoreless tie if not for the carom off Gianna Popovic's hard shot, which came with just 46 seconds left to play in the first half.

Lily Diaz had the assist on Popovic's goal.

Astrab stopped shots high and low and was both on her feet and on the ground. Some sequences found her making three and even four consecutive saves.

Yorktown coach Courtney Hyndman paid Astrab the ultimate keeper compliments, calling her both a "killer goalie" and an "insane goalie."

But late in the game, Astrab did get some defensive help with Kelly McAleese and Kaitlyn Wilkowski stopping potential scoring shots.

On the flip side, Yorktown rarely lets Panas get into the same zip code as Durante.

They said it

Part of the reason was the ability of Husker forwards and midfielders to beat Panas to most loose balls.

But when the Panthers got the ball into Yorktown's defensive end, Husker defenseman Alexis Warren was regularly there to take it away.

"She's been really stepping up huge in general. She's been killing it on the left side," Hyndman said of the junior, a first-year starter.

Yorktown may have had only one goal, but Hyndman indicated she was happy with her squad's continued ability to put shots on net, a problem in years past.

In boiling down why Yorktown is doing so well, Hyndman said, "Truly, it's speed and defense."

While Panas has stumbled a bit out of the blocks, Astrab, who has decided not to play anything besides possibly club-level field hockey in college, praised her team for its "leadership, companionship and attitude."

The latter includes a commitment to working hard in practice to "maximize skills," something she and fellow captain Wilkowski advocate.

But even though that's not always translating to wins, Astrab is enjoying her final season. She described her team as "fun" and the players as very supportive of each other.

Yorktown's Durante wins: Vote now for the Journal News/lohud Player of the Week

Next up

Both teams are scheduled to play again Saturday.

Panas will host Nanuet at 10 a.m. and Rye will travel to Yorktown for a 1:30 p.m. game.

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Field hockey: Panas's Astrab a wall but Yorktown wins on Popovic goal