Lunenburg’s Brianna Hamel brings the ball right at Algonquin’s Jordan Howorth during Varsity Field Hockey action at home on Monday Sept. 10.  The Lady Blue Knights pulled out a 2-0 win to improve their record to 3-0-0 on the season.

Story by Michael James LeClair, Photos by Jeffrey W. Boudreau

If the first three games are any indication then the Lunenburg field hockey team should turn more than its fair share of heads in 2012.

    The Blue Knights are flawless with a sparkling 3-0 overall record. Lunenburg has a trio of convincing wins to kick off this year’s campaign and Head Coach Emily Marsden has liked what she’s seen from her squad thus far.

    “It’s been a great start to the season. The girls have really been playing well,” said Marsden recently following one of the Knights’ commanding wins. “We’re really excited. The girls have been playing fabulous and they deserve the success.”

    One of Marsden’s primary goals during the preseason was to have her team put a little more offensive pressure on the opposition. Lunenburg has averaged just fewer than four goals a game through its first three contests. The Knights have found the back of the cage a total of 11 times in the young season. After a six-goal outburst in their opener against Tahanto Regional the Knights followed with three goals against Gardner High School this past Friday and then scored twice in a triumph over a tough Algonquin team on Monday.

    “This year we really want to focus on finishing inside the circle.  We will be increasing our shots on goal percentage. Last year finding the back of the net was our downfall,” said Marsden, who is now in her sixth season as the Knights’ varsity head coach after spending three seasons as junior varsity coach under Nancy Healey. “Scoring is something we’re devoting a lot of time on.”

    While the offensive explosion has been topic of conversation among Knights fans the defense has been equally impressive. Lunenburg has yet to surrender a goal through 180 minutes of action this season.

    “Our defense was and will continue to be a strong factor all year long,” said Marsden. “This season my team consists of seven seniors, two juniors and eight sophomores.  Although it’s a young team it’s a talented one.”

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