Spolarich’s Hat Trick Propels Pierson Field Hockey to Suffolk County Class C Crown

Meredith Spolarich is like the Energizer Bunny. Even when Greenport/Southold goalkeeper Dylan Reilly made save after save, the senior midfielder just kept firing until she scored again, and again, and again, recording a hat trick in her Pierson/Bridgehampton field hockey team’s 5-0 shutout of the Porters for the program’s eighth straight Suffolk County Class C championship title Saturday.

As with the past five seasons, the Whalers (8-7) faced Nassau’s Carle Place (9-5) in the Long Island Championship, which was played Wednesday, November 2, at Berner Middle School in Massapequa, but results were not available by press time. Check 27East.com and next week’s issue of The Sag Harbor Express for results from this contest.

“There was just a lot of energy going through me,” Spolarich said after the county title game, laughing. “I wanted to win, but all the girls wanted to win, and I think buying into that as a team really made it happen.”

Spolarich had a ton of chances early, but Reilly racked up save after save — 35 total — to keep the Whalers at bay. The Porters (2-13) followed up Pierson’s first two penalty corners with back-to-back corners of their own, but neither team scored in the first. Spolarich managed four more shots in the second before getting Pierson on the board with a strike straight up the middle with 32.6 seconds left in the first half.

“Any game at this point could be my last, so I was just trying to keep going and get those shots on goal,” the senior said. “We started off slow, so it was a little nerve-wracking, but we pulled it together.”

Her mother, Pierson head coach Kim Spolarich, said she let out a sigh of relief when her daughter finally put Pierson out front.

“I thought, ‘Thank goodness. It’s about time.’ I could actually take a breath at that point,” the first-year coach said, laughing. “She’s a playmaker and does such a great job of moving the ball and getting the ball into the circle. I just couldn’t be prouder.”

Her Whalers had figured out what modifications needed to be made — including placement in the circle — in order to finish, and it was smooth sailing from there.

Meredith Spolarich scored her second off a rebound just over four minutes into the third quarter and after having another shot stopped, it was junior defender Eva McKelvey’s turn to score off a rebound of her own on a Whalers corner.

“The positive mindset we went into today’s team with helped us work together as a unit, and we were so strong,” McKelvey said. “We’re there for each other. Our IQ is so much higher than it’s been in previous years. This win’s deserved for all of our hard work this year. I’m just so happy.”

Spolarich tallied her hat trick goal off a feed from junior midfielder Maddie Cohen, and sophomore midfielder Bella Eldridge won a scrum in front of the cage and pushed the ball over the goal line to ice it with 2:31 left to play.

“It felt good to finish off strong,” Spolarich said. “We started off really frazzled and we weren’t thinking of our spacing, so we took a deep breath and adjusted, and were just playing smarter. We reeled it back in and made those good passes and kept our heads in the game. We stayed calm even when things didn’t go our way.”

McKelvey said her teammate means a lot to the Whalers team, and has been a key component to its success.

“Meredith is not only one of my closest friends, she’s one of the most hardworking people I’ve ever met,” the junior said. “She’s so noticeable on the field. She played amazing today.”

Their coach is looking forward to seeing what they can do in the next round against Carle Place.

“We have some similar types of plays, so we’ll prepare and give it our best shot,” Kim Spolarich said. “But it’s just nice to see the girls having fun. It’s a great group, and they want to be here. I love seeing them working together and supporting one another. But they’re also playing some beautiful hockey.”