On Tuesday Milford hosted Lake Forest in a key rivalry match-up. With Milford having won three straight and holding a 5-3 record, a win against a solid opponent like Lake Forest who came in standing at 6-3, would have the Bucs making a statement. Unfortunately for Milford, they would end up on the wrong end of a 4-2 score.
It would be Lake who would start on the front foot from the very beginning of the game, clogging passing lanes and attacking from the opening whistle. While Milford was able to keep Lake off the scoreboard in the first quarter, it would be Lake freshman Isabelle Stevenson who would score the game’s first goal with 12:51 remaining in the second quarter. Even though Lake continued to pressure Milford for the rest of the half, Milford managed to be down only 1-0 at the break.
“You have to give Lake a lot of credit the way they came out today. They were ready to go from the start. On the other hand, it really took us a long time for us to find our stride.” Coach Andrea McPike said.
With 8:38 left in the third quarter, Lake would add their second goal as senior Rylin McCloskey would find the back of the net. While it looked like the route might be on, it was then that Milford went on the offensive. Setting up shop in the Lake circle, Milford repeatedly won penalty corners and had shots on goal. Finally, with 2:12 left in the third, freshman Aiyana Atkins would put Milford on the board and cut the Lake advantage to 2-1. While it looked as if the Buccaneers were back in the game, a defensive lapse would allow Lake to regain their two-goal lead as Stevenson would score with no time remaining in the quarter, it was a crushing blow to the Buccaneers.
“Lake made a really good play at the end of the third quarter and I think that really changed the way we were feeling about the game. We were kind of taken back by it and by the time we recovered it was too late.” McPike said.
Milford would concede Lake’s final goal of the game as junior Ashley Robbins would convert a penalty stroke to make it 4-1 just two minutes into the fourth quarter. While Milford would continue to apply pressure, the clock was simply not in their favor. Milford senior Isabel Betts would close out the game’s scoring as she scored with 8:18 remaining in the game. Even though Milford continued to attack, finishing the game with more shots on goal and a 12-5 advantage on penalty corners, Lake was much the better team on the day.
“Obviously this was a game we really wanted, they just wanted it more. We have to take what we learned from this game and learn from it. We have to get to that goal of playing consistent for four quarters every game. Until we get there, we are going to end up with results like this.” McPike concluded.
