SECTION IV FIELD HOCKEY: SVEC DOWNS NEWARK VALLEY IN FIRST INTRA-COUNTY CLASH OF 2025 SEASON (2025-09-03)

By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY — Spencer-Van Etten/ Candor controlled possession of the ball for the majority of the game en route to a 4-0 victory over Newark Valley in the first clash of Tioga County field hockey teams this season.

It was the Cardinals’ opener and just the second game for SVEC, which dropped a 5-1 verdict to Moravia Tuesday.

“A lot of learning happened in that first half, and then the second half was 0-0,” SVEC coach Abby Gentile said of the Eagles’ season opener. “Tonight, I feel like we were able to bounce back pretty good and play well out there on the field.

“We definitely had a lot more possession of the ball than them as far as time goes. I'd like to see us take advantage of some of our opportunities a little bit more.”

“Not exactly what we're hoping for, but definitely lots of points of things that we can work on that are fixable so we can continue to grow each game as the season progresses,” NV coach Jessica Doehring said.

The first quarter was a defensive standoff as only three shots were attempted, all by SVEC.

More than half of the second period was a defensive battle as well until Megan Williamson broke the ice with a goal with 6:54 left in the half.

Maddy Gentile made it 2-0 at the four-minute mark on a feed from Kendall Gentile.

Kendall Gentile contributed a pair of insurance goals in the second half, scoring at 8:36 of the third quarter and 7:40 of the fourth.

The Eagles were able to take 24 shots without allowing NV any and also held a 15-3 advantage in penalty corners.

The youthful Cardinals weren’t able to get their offense to click due to the ball spending a lot of time in the NV end.

“We'll work on that a little bit, getting our possession game a little better, and working on our passing and moving up the field,” said Doehring. “Like I said, all the points are things that we are able to address in practice and fix and move on.”

The win should help steer SVEC in the right direction.

“We're a very young team,” coach Gentile said. “I’ve got a lot of new kids and we are learning. And you can see that. It's like, now we're in the right spot, like little things are happening, and it's going to click and be really good, but it's going to take a little bit of time.”

The Cardinals’ Ashleen Callhan made 17 shots in her debut at goalie.

“She did a great job,” Doehring said. “She's a freshman, so this was her first varsity experience, so definitely impressed. She did very well.”

Newark Valley heads to Deposit/Hancock Friday while SVEC hosts Owego in its home opener Friday.

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IN PHOTO 1: SVEC’s Kendall Gentile (front) works the ball under pressure from NV’s Cecilia Whitney. IN TOP PHOTO: Newark Valley and SVEC players battle it out during a penalty corner. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.

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