By Darren Lum

Published October 3 2017

No one is hitting the panic button with the Red Hawks field hockey team after a 1-nil loss to the visiting Crestwood Secondary School Mustangs on Thursday Sept. 28 at the Haliburton Highlands Secondary School.

Coach Steve Smith is confident in the team despite being winless after two Kawartha High School Field Hockey League games.

“Oh and two is good for us” he said smiling. “We played Crestwood and I think Crestwood is probably going to be our biggest competition this year.”

He adds the visitors came with their senior team to play his varsity squad comprised predominantly of “junior” aged players.

“I think we played fairly well” he said. “I played my whole bench. I need my rookies to get some experience so you know what? They played well. I think Crestwood were a little bit surprised at what they came at them.”

As he has always done when coaching he credits the girls with the wins and assumes responsibility for the loss accepting the challenge for him to coach better.

This loss wasn’t any different. However he did not divulge everything that will be addressed except to say the team will work on “finishing off our short corners” and making sure the team builds on getting

the ball into the opposing team’s circle more often.

Although the team has yet to score a goal in Kawartha action it has not been completely shut out this season as it scored two goals in a recent tournament in Peterborough.

The team earned at least 20 short-corners controlling the offence for the majority of the game.

However the best chance came in the second half when a pass by Kendra Anderson rolled into the circle to Emma Scheffee who shot a one-timer that just went wide of the net.

“That was close” he agreed. “And that’s what I got to keep telling them. It will come. It will come. I think by the end of the season there will be some marked improvements overall. That’s what I want. That’s what I want. My expectations never change: Kawartha COSSA and OFSAA.”

Note: Hawks result from Monday’s Oct. 2 game was not available as of press time