By Tim Mattesson

GUILDERLAND — The team surged into uncharted territory this season as the program is trying to make strides.

The Lady Dutch played in its first-ever Section II semifinal game after upsetting Saratoga in a quarterfinal game. Guilderland, though, showed its inexperience and did not perform well in a 1-0 loss to Shenendehowa in the semifinal match-up.
"We spent a lot of time on our heels," said Guilderland Coach Kelly Vrooman. "It was disappointing with the momentum we were on. The last time we played them, we had 20 shots."

This time, the Lady Dutch managed only 10 shots against Shenendehowa goalie Emily Gunner. Shen forced Dutch senior goalie Melanie Ostrowski to make 12 saves in the contest.

Despite the lack of offense, the Dutch were able to hold on until late in the second half. Shen’s Holly Garrison finally broke through as she placed a shot past Ostrowski with 5:19 left in the game.

Players were scrambling in front of the Guilderland goal before Garrison got a pass from Taylor Dempsey and finished a shot that gave the Plainswomen the win.
"We were scrambling and I ran out of timeouts," Vrooman said. "I think I needed five timeouts to help us focus."

The Dutch got some shots from senior captain Jen Kaye, and good play out of Michelle Giwerc, senior captain Nikki Branchini, and senior defender Lindsey Green.

The Dutch were stronger in the first half as they had better chances in the opening 30 minutes. But the Dutch were on their heels in the second half and it was just a matter of time before Shen broke through.

"Huge feat"
"We had our moments," Vrooman said. "But our play was mediocre. It was a huge feat to beat Saratoga, and I can’t take that away from them. It was the first time we were in the semifinals in Guilderland’s history."

The field hockey program began in 2002 and has struggled to produce consistent results. The Dutch finished the season with a 6-11 record.

But when Kaye scored — with an assist from Branchini — to put the Dutch into the semifinals, a big step for the program was taken.
"We are still a young team," Vrooman said. "We have players that don’t have knowledge of the game. We just started a modified team this year and that will help us. That is why we have a young team all the time.
"We want to build competitors," Vrooman added. "We want to try to teach the girls how to compete.
"It is hard for the girls coming up from the j.v.," Vrooman added. "They are winning one or two games and tying a couple of games. They don’t know how it feels to win unless they are multiple-sport athletes."

The Dutch have just five seniors, and they have a lack of experience, but most compete in other sports. Ostrowski also plays basketball, Branchini plays basketball and lacrosse, Green plays lacrosse, and Kaye plays ice hockey and lacrosse. Megan Cleary is the other senior on the team.

Kaye was a first-team Suburban Council all-star and Ostrowski was a second-team player for the second year in a row. Branchini was named to the league’s first team and Green was named to the second team while Rachel Ostrowski and Courtney Davis were named as honorable mentions.
"This is the biggest junior class I’ve had," said Vrooman, who has coached the team since it started. "The talent is spread out across the team. Jen Kaye is in her second year of field hockey and she has played tremendous. She’s been spectacular on offense."

Vrooman said it is too soon to tell if the first trip to the semifinals will be a boost to the program. But the program is getting stronger as the junior varsity team, under the tutelage of Lori Rafferty, has been learning the sport and the modified team, coached by Tara McConaghy, has been formed.
"Having j.v. and modified will help," Vrooman said. "We had a hard time because we had girls on varsity that were new to the game. We are starting to build on youth. We built the program from the top down."

Part of the process is getting a good performance in every game. The Dutch played well to upset Saratoga but took a step back against Shen.
"It felt good when it happened," Vrooman said of the Saratoga win. "Today [Wednesday] we didn’t play well. The last two times we played Shen, we played great. We should have won. They have a phenomenal keeper. In the last game, she saved 20 balls.
"I wish there are more positives. But it’s very tough. If the girls played as hard as they could it would not hurt as much. I know they are better than what they showed out here."