PLYMOUTH — Janet Veracka and her Plymouth North field hockey squad worked through all the sport modifications in the Fall I season: the 7-on-7 play, no penalty corners, the masks, etc. But she had never considered planning her team’s final practice.
No matter the outcome in the Patriot Cup championship game against visiting Pembroke, the season was over. The Eagles turned their final into a grand finale, pulling away for a 4-0 victory Friday night at Romano Field to cap a dominant 12-1-1 season.
“It’s as far as we were able to go this season,” Veracka said. “It’s definitely exciting to go all the way to the end. It’s the first time I’ve ever had to plan a practice knowing that even if we win, it’s our last practice.”
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Junior Emme Jenkins scored the first three goals for Plymouth North, which knocked off Pembroke (6-5-2) for the second time in the tournament.
Her first tally came with 2:19 left in the opening period. As the ball arced through the air, she executed a perfect right-handed swing on the ball into the back of the net to give her team all the offense it would need.
“The hand-eye coordination, it always helps,” said Jenkins, who also plays softball at North.
She scored again with 13:29 left in the second quarter on an assist from junior Caroline Egan and completed her fourth hat trick of the season with 9:17 left in the second on a feed from sophomore Maeve Campbell, the Patriot’s Keenan Division MVP. Campbell also assisted on the first goal.
“We’ve been working together for two years, so between practices and games, I know where she’s going to be and she knows where I’m going to be,” Jenkins said of her teammate. “Even if we’re not looking at each other. We have very good chemistry and nothing gets in between us.”
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Bella Harvey, a senior, completed the scoring for the Eagles with 1:14 left in the second quarter.
Senior Kathleen Cobb made eight saves for the Titans, including five in the fourth quarter to give her team a fighting chance. Her counterpart, senior Maeve Tierney, made four saves for North.
