Ashley Doyle fired off a shot from the top on a corner against West York that would’ve been hard for most goalies to stop.
Landing a one-two punch, the junior Patriot scored on it and then the next goal before Red Land closed out the Thursday, Oct. 5 game by winning it 7-0.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Doyle said. “Our team was ready to play our game. We really wanted to come out strong. We’re trying to make playoffs. We just want to keep it up for the rest of the season.”
West York, which fought vigorously throughout the 60 minutes, was exposed to good competition. Both are in District 3, but Red Land is in the Mid-Penn and West York is in YAIAA.
Red Land had just come off a 2-2 tie in double overtime versus Hershey the night before. So, the Patriots showed up ready to continue rebranding itself.
They have thrown away the old playbook that taught them they were just a defensive squad. They’ve made moves in 2022 to flex offensive muscle.
The speed of Doyle’s first ball that bounced off the goalie’s pad and nailed the left backboard was proof of the Patriots’ newly improved confidence.
Red Land is in the Keystone Division, which regularly sees its teams ranked in Pennsylvania and the nation. While Red Land hasn’t hit either list yet, the Patriots play as though one day soon, they will.
“We’re just trying to prove to these teams that we’re just as high up there as, like, they are,” Doyle said. “We just want to prove to them that we’re here. And we can beat some of them.”
Doyle was specifically referencing teams like Hershey, Lower Dauphin, Mechanicsburg, and Palmyra. Red Land forced Hershey into overtime last week.
They earned a corner with no time on the clock and found the cage.
“We drew a foul in the last minute,” Red Land Head Coach Heather Wolfe said. “Good insert and Chelsey Carpenter just hit it home.”
Lauren Tobin scored the first goal for the Patriots in the Hershey game.
Wolfe’s thoughts are aligned with her players. She said her girls are attacking a competitive learning curve to stay in it until the end.
“It’s hard in this division,” Wolfe said.
The Bulldogs had limitations. They faced an improved team and only had two player substitutions on the sidelines.
They didn’t go without maintaining possession. Despite the score, they never stopped working. Standing out for them was Reagan Kunkle. She marked, intercepted, and channeled her energy appropriately.
But the fire that’s been stoked inside the Patriots is hard to put out.
“I think we’ve gotten better with our passing,” Doyle said. “We’re doing more give and gos that are stick to stick. And we’re seeing the open long balls down the right side of the goal. And then we’re sending it right across the goal trying to get that touch for a goal. Definitely a lot better compared to the beginning of the season. I think if we just keep pushing ourselves, we can make it to playoffs.”
Patriots: 7
- Goals: Doyle (2), Tobin (1), Aubrey Clark (2), Ashton Kolmansberger (1)
- Assists: Wagner (1)
- Shots: 20
- Penalty Corners: 10
- Saves: Josie Ickes, Abby Craw (1)
Bulldogs: 0
- Goals: 0
- Assists: 0
- Shots: 1
- Penalty Corners: 2
- Saves: Alissa Lawson (14)
