The field hockey team (11–1) was narrowly defeated by the Churchill Bulldogs (11–1) in overtime on Monday night in the county championship.

In the first quarter, both teams started aggressively, going back and forth with possession. The teams looked evenly matched as both teams shined on offense and defense. Juniors Maya Raphael, Mia Kanzucker, and senior Cata Sposato put up a brick wall against the Churchill offense, preventing the Bulldogs from getting any good opportunities at a goal in the first half. Despite a couple of breakaways, the Vikes were unable to capitalize on their opportunities, and both teams remained scoreless going into the second half.

In the second half, the Vikes slowly started to emerge as the better team. The Vikes’ communication was on point and started building better possessions. As the Vikes got closer and closer to taking a single-goal lead, Whitman was simply unable to finish their chances. The Vikes’ strong defense forced the game into overtime with the game still being tied at 0–0.

Just a few minutes into overtime, the Bulldogs received a corner after a penalty on the Vikings and just barely netted one past the Vikings goalie to win the match 1–0. Despite the loss, the Vikes had a promising performance as they head into the playoffs. The loss will not count toward Whitman’s record.

The team will face the Richard Montgomery Rockets in the first round of the playoffs at home on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Mia Kanzucker is a sports writer for The Black & White.