Lowe comes up big for Bruins

Blair Lowe didn’t believe her own eyes. Even after she redirected a pass from Melissa Fessenden into the cage to beat Osbourn Park in double overtime on Monday night, Forest Park’s senior midfielder stood frozen in place as a celebration began all around her.
“I didn’t think it was real,” she said. “I never score. I stopped and then we all freaked out. It was great.”
The most significant goal of Lowe’s field hockey career gave the Bruins one of their most gratifying victories — a 3-2 comeback triumph in the semifinals of the Cardinal District Tournament that reaffirmed their status as one of the area’s elite teams.
With the prospect of penalty strokes looming, Lowe positioned herself near the right post and converted a play the Bruins rehearse virtually every day in practice.
Only this time, they executed it with flawless perfection, set up by an entry pass from Samantha Schottler and precise touches from Raya Nickerson and Fessenden.
“That was intense. We just pulled through together. That last goal was incredible,” Schottler said. “Blair just took a shot and nailed it.”
As the ball crossed the goal line and banged against the back wall of the cage, the Bruins let loose a month’s worth of pent up anxiety and frustration. Any lingering doubts that might have existed following an unanticipated four-match losing streak were instantly extinguished with 4 minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the second overtime.
With one glorious, well-timed blast, Forest Park advanced to Wednesday’s championship match against regular season champion Woodbridge and clinched a berth in the Northwest Region Tournament.
“During that losing streak we didn’t know what to do with ourselves,” Lowe said. “This team is stacked all throughout. We don’t have any players that we wouldn’t feel comfortable putting in. It’s ridiculous that we started losing and I just think once we get our momentum back up we’re going to be really good.
“We dominated the first half of our season and, honestly, we’re going to go far.”
At the very least, the Bruins once again resemble the squad that has won four consecutive Cardinal District Tournament titles.
After gathering for a team dinner at IHOP on Sunday, Forest Park watched Woodbridge defeat Hylton 1-0 in Monday’s first semifinal match on a goal by Chantal Gutierrez with just over 14 minutes remaining. Then they rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit just when it appeared that their reign as district champs was about to end.
“I was so, so nervous,” Lowe said. “But we figured what was the point of being number three when we could be number one.”
Behind second-half goals from Marissa Ferrigno and Fessenden, the Bruins will have an opportunity to defend their crown. Osbourn Park, which has its own proud legacy that includes five consecutive regional appearances, can extend its season by winning a third-place match against Hylton on Wednesday.
“It’s all about maturing,” Yellow Jackets coach Kate Thomas said. “The girls will be ready. There are quite a few younger players on the team and we’re going to have them again next year. That’s something to look forward to.”
The future is still pretty bright as well.
Osbourn Park has one of the area’s best finishers in senior forward Jessica Lowman and a hard-hitting defender in Hillary White, who scored on a penalty corner to give the Jackets a 1-0 lead.
The Bruins, with 11 seniors on the varsity roster, are counting on experience to lead them through the remainder of the postseason.
“This is where we wanted to be. We want to win districts,” Schottler said. “After we lost to Battlefield and Woodbridge our confidence was shot. We went into a slump and went from being the best in the area to losing to teams we shouldn’t be losing to, so we all pushed each other and worked together.
“When we get to regionals we’re there to kick butt,” she said. “We want to go farther than any Forest Park team has gone. Most of this team is seniors and we just cannot imagine not going that far.”