OAKLAND – Two minutes.
It is the length of a short commercial break, a minor penalty in ice hockey or the suggested time to heat a Hot Pocket in a microwave.
It is also a phrase spoken by MICDS coach Lynn Mittler at various points during a field hockey game.
“Statistically, the highest chance of a goal being scored by either team is within two minutes after a goal is scored. The game is so unsettled after that,” Mittler said. “We’ve also been focusing on trying to score immediately as a quarter starts, so that is what the ‘two minutes’ is for us.”
MICDS scored within the opening two minutes of both the second and third quarters to power its way to a 3-0 victory over Ursuline Wednesday at Ursuline Academy in the final regular season game for both teams.
The Midwest Field Hockey Tournament to determine the 2023 Missouri state champion will begin the week of October 16. Villa Duchesne is the three-time defending state champion.
After an evenly played first quarter, MICDS (15-6) emerged with the ‘two minutes’ mantra fresh on their minds.
Sophomore Mia Brauer entered the circle and sent a reverse shot towards the cage that lost speed on the grass surface. Senior Rebecca Sennaraj stopped it and tucked it between the pads of Ursuline goalie Taylor Wuennenberg 1 minute 39 seconds into the second quarter.
“I like to go in front of the goalie to block her vision or to get a tip,” said Sennaraj, who found the perfect spot to deposit her 14th of the season.
After that goal, MICDS again deployed its ‘two minute’ philosophy and took advantage of the unsettled play that followed. The Rams quickly earned three successive corners and Wuennenberg made three stellar saves to keep it a one-goal game.
The MICDS flurry prompted Ursuline coach Roxann Naeger to call the only timeout granted to a team.
“I took the early timeout because we looked scrambled and they weren’t doing what we had talked about between the first and second quarter – talking to each other, opening up, going to the ball. I called for a reset and it changed our momentum a little bit,” Naeger said.
Excellent defense by Ursuline senior Ava Eiler led to clearing passes that junior Lanie VanVardo blasted down the field for sophomore Ashley Strauss and senior Josie Naeger to track down.
The reset worked, and the Bears entered halftime trailing only 1-0 and with renewed confidence.
“We knew coming in that Ursuline is a tough team, especially on their home field. All credit to how well they played,” Mittler said.
But MICDS reset at halftime, and the first two minutes of the second half ultimately decided the outcome.
MICDS earned a corner 45 seconds into the third quarter and immediately capitalized. Ella Etherington delivered the insert, Ellie Lochhead blasted the shot and Ellemieke Ferguson provided the tip to give the Rams a 2-0 lead early in the third quarter.
“We talked at halftime about how we needed to get the energy up and come out with intensity. We wanted a goal in the first two minutes, and we were able to do that,” Etherington said.
Lochhead added, “We needed that spark. Our energy was down and we brought it back up really quickly.”
That burst of energy prompted another shout of ‘Two minutes’ from Mittler and MICDS responded with a flurry of shots that Wuennenberg denied.
Wuennenberg, who grew up as an ice hockey goalie, dropped into a butterfly technique, stacked the pads and made highlight-reel saves on shots from Lochhead and Etherington to keep the Bears within striking distance.
“Unbelievable,” Naeger said to describe the performance of her senior goalie, who also will be competing in the Class 4 girls golf state tournament October 16-17 after shooting an 85 during the Class 4 District 1 tournament Monday at Westborough Country Club.
Ursuline (10-8) came inches from scoring several times, including a corner opportunity early in the first quarter. Near-misses have been a theme for the Bears, who endured their sixth shutout loss this season.
“Had we scored first, there may have been a different outcome, but we just could not finish,” Naeger said. “That’s kind of been our problem all year. We need to get goal-hungry.”
Etherington has been feeding MICDS goal-scorers all season.
She delivered her area-leading, 27th assist in the fourth quarter after executing a beautiful weave through traffic and dishing a perfectly-paced feed to Lochhead at the far post, who notched her team-leading 20th goal of the season.
“Honestly, that’s always been my strength – vision, passing and helping my teammates score,” Etherington said. “We’re well-rounded and we have great shooters. If I can get the ball to them and it’s going to help our team win, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
MICDS has nine players with at least five goals this season, including senior Ella Brauer, who believes that scoring diversity is the ingredient that makes the Rams dangerous heading into the postseason.
“Goals are not dominated by one person, it’s a team effort, and that is quintessential to the program,” Brauer said.
And the Rams, which have won seven of their last eight games, have found that the hot pocket for scoring goals often occurs within specific, two-minute increments, and it has helped them compartmentalize how to achieve victories.
“It’s a step-by-step instead of a result,” Lochhead said. “Sure, we want to win, but it’s how we’re going to get there.”