by Steve Bradley
History is being made at HFCS. Two sophomores, Liz Ryan and Ally Burdick, are close to becoming the two most prolific scorers in Panther field hockey history. The girls are chasing Brooke (Niles) Williams’ scoring record, set from 1982 to 1985, of 55 career goals.
At this time, Ryan has the best chance of surpassing the record. The conclusion of the regular season found Ryan with 53 career goals. With an unknown amount of games remaining in the postseason, the record could broken this year. Ryan’s career began in eighth grade, when she scored 11 goals. As a ninth-grader, she broke Denise Taber’s 24 year old record of 23 goals in a single season with 26 goals. In the current season Ryan recorded 16 scores. With two years of play remaining, Ryan could put up a career number that may never be surpassed.
Or … it may be surpassed at any time.
Classmate and teammate Ally Burdick is close behind Ryan. Burdick currently is in third place on the career list with 45 goals. Burdick scored 12 goals as an eighth-grader, 13 goals as a freshman and has 20 at this point in her sophomore season. Burdick’s 20 goals this season puts her in sixth place and counting for individual goals in a season.
Jill Reeve, a 1988 HFCS graduate and former Olympian in field hockey, has dipped into fourth place in the record book after being surpassed by the two current players. Reeve had 43 career goals. Reeve is currently in her third year as field hockey head coach at Brown University in Rhode Island. Denise (Taber) Campbell, a 1991 graduate and current HFCS field hockey head coach, is tied with Reeve at 43. Campbell has been HFCS head coach since 1998 and has an outstanding record of 270-58-1, a .823 winning percentage. Samantha Skott, a 2010 graduate, is in fifth place with 42 goals. Skott currently plays field hockey for Skidmore College.
Adding to the offensive firepower of the current team, senior Caytlyn Springer sits in sixth place in career scoring with 41 goals, with 17 in the 2014 season. It’s possible that three of the top five, and possibly three of top four, all time scorers in HFCS field hockey history are playing this season.
Without their great teammates, the chances of these girls chasing records would be slim. Senior Maddy Ryan, junior Erika Quackenbush, along with sophomore Megan Henry and eighth-grader Lillian Hickey, all helped by a stingy defense and great coaching, make the wins and the scoring possible.
Section II, Class C play began on Monday. The #2 seeded (15 – 1) Panthers play Thursday, October 23, at home against #7 seeded Germantown in the first round. The game begins at 3 pm. Schuylerville is the #1 seed. From there, games are win and move on or lose and go home. Semifinals will be held Thursday, October 30, at 3 pm, on the field of the highest winning seed. If Hoosick Falls successfully moves to the semis, they will face either #3 Taconic Hills or #6 Greenwich at HFCS. Sectional finals will be held at Schuylerville High School on Sunday, November 2, at 4 pm. From there, the sectional winner will move into State competition.