Rebels Survive Madison

Written by Mike Cosgrove. Send your sports news to whitney@patch.com.

Fairfax Rebels Field Hockey team went on the road Wednesday night to put their undefeated record to test against the Madison Warhawks.  

After a scoreless first half, the Rebels started to gain momentum, winning possession and pressuring the Madison goal. The Rebels were able to turn the pressure into seven-second half penalty corners, but the Madison defense was able to limit the Rebels to just three shots on goal. 

Three minutes left in the game, with the score still tied at 0, the Rebels suffered a yellow card penalty. The yellow card put the Rebels down a player for the final minutes of the game as well as the first two minutes of the overtime 7v7 period.

In overtime, the Rebels were able to survive the two minutes during which Madison had a player advantage. Senior midfielder Amanda Blackwell and junior midfielder Jessica Bachelder were able to maintain possession and attack the Madison goal to kill off the yellow card.  

Shortly after Fairfax returned to full strength, the Rebels would finally find the back of the Madison net. Senior midfielder Sam Zelenack received a pass and dribbled to the center of the field and fired a shot into the Madison circle where Jessica Bachelder was able to redirect the ball past the Warhawk goalkeeper.

With the victory, the Rebels improved to 11-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Liberty District. The loss dropped the Warhawks to 4-6 on the season and 0-1 in the Liberty District. 

The Rebels step out of the Liberty District on Monday when they host the Westfield Bulldogs. The Warhawks return to the field Friday night when they host the Marshall Statesman in an important Liberty District match.