The Dons (6-3 overall, 4-1 Peninsula Ocean League) took down Terra Nova (1-4 overall, 0-3 POL) 9-4 on Sept. 26, achieving their fifth win of the season. Showing an aggressive man to man coverage, the team used their swarming defense to convert to offense, scoring seven goals in the first half.
Senior hole-set Peter Martin led the team, scoring four out of their nine goals. However, it was their defense that was the real reason behind the win.
“Lately our offense has become a lot more organized,” said junior wing player Jeremy Im. “Our defense has also become a little more active, where we’re following the ball at all times.”
Junior goalie Kelton King made 15 saves, adding to his successful year. The Dons recorded 11 blocks by forcing Terra Nova’s hole sets into difficult shots with their vigorous defense.
Offensively, the Dons came storming out of the gate, hitting the target on over 50 percent of their shots. However, they cooled off in the second half, connecting on just 20 percent of their shots. Offensive production also came from junior field player, Kristopher Nguyen, who scored two goals and senior defensive hole-set Barsam Shokri Niri, who scored one goal.
Niri was also a valuable asset on the defensive side of the game, shutting down Terra Nova’s main source of offense with many steals.
“Peter Martin [is probably] the most important field player we have right now,” said head coach Carly Demarchena. “He controls the flow of play [and] he scores a lot.”
The Dons also depend on their defense and their goalie to contribute to their success.
“Our … equally important [player] is Kelton King … who is our goalie,” Demarchena said.
The Dons started off the season strong and their victory against Terra Nova demonstrates the improvements they’ve made since last season where they were less successful, finishing 2-6 overall and 2-4 in the POL.
Opening this season with a 9-8 win over Capuchino (5-4 overall, 4-2 POL league), a 14-9 win against Lick-Wilmerding (3-6 overall 0-4 POL league), and a 15-4 win over San Mateo (0-4 overall, 0-3 POL league), the Dons have built their confidence for the rest of the season.
“I think that we have come together as a team,” Demarchena said. “The kids have worked and built this whole program together so they are coming together as a team.”
The team has improved their communication and their chemistry this year, which is leading to more success in games.
“A lot of our success has come from the increase in communication between our team, either in or out of the game,” Im said. “We’ve changed a lot of how we play just so we can have more concentrated games.”
By strengthening their offense, which only scored 49 goals last year, they have proceeded to score 43 goals in their first four games. Their defense has also improved, only allowing 57 goals in 7 games.
“We are working on our motion offense,” Demarchena said. “We have a play, or two plays, called Sine and Cosine, that we had last year, but this year we are incorporating them more into our motion offense overall.”
Their new strategy of a motion offense allows them to get into different formations quickly have more opportunities to pass to key players such as Martin.
The Dons look to continue their success with another match away against Terra Nova on Oct. 14.
