Taylor Cummings

Team Arsenault stuns Team Wood in 9-7 victory

© Athletes Unlimited, LLC 2021 / Credit: Jenny Jeffries
Ellie Kinney
Aug 06, 2021

After going undefeated the first two weeks, Kayla Wood has officially been taken down. In the first game of Week 3, Team Arsenault bested Team Wood 9-7, led by Kenzie Kent and Sammy Jo Tracy’s hat tricks.

Team Arsenault dominated the first half, scoring four unanswered goals in the first quarter. Shayna Pirreca’s duo of 2-point goals kept Team Wood in the game, but Kent dominated with a 4-goal, 4-assist game, setting an Athletes Unlimited record for most combined goals and assists.

Here’s a recap of how things went down in this exciting matchup:

Team Wood started the game with a strong defensive stand, forcing Team Arsenault to turn over possession. However, the orange team got the ball back and Tracy threaded the needle between two defenders for the first goal of the game.

On the very next possession, Team Arsenault attacked at the zone and Halle Majorana cut inside the lane, finding the back of the net and putting her team up 2-0.

After a heads-up pass from Kent, Tracy shot a quick-stick goal for her second score of the game. Kent quickly added onto Team Arsenault’s run, sneaking a low shot between Hill’s legs and putting the orange team up 4-0.

The first quarter was all Team Arsenault, shocking Team Wood with four unanswered goals and stellar defense.

Just after coming off the bench, Kady Glynn made an instant impact for Team Wood with an excellent save despite Team Arsenault’s fast break. Caylee Waters answered for Team Arsenault with her own impressive stop, continuing another strong goalkeeping performance.

When Team Wood desperately needed a point on the board, Alex Aust put a shot past Waters to make it 4-1.

Tracy had her sights on a hat trick, but Glynn made another great stop for Team Wood. Waters added her third save of the game shortly after.

After a slow start to the second quarter, Team Arsenault added another goal with a powerful shot from Taylor Cummings, notching her 15th goal on the season.

The goaltending was outstanding in the second quarter, with both Waters and Glynn only allowing just one goal each.

 

To open up the second half, Shayna Pirreca showed off her range once again with her third 2-point goal of the season.

Not ready to let Team Wood go on a run, Kent added another goal to Team Arsenault’s lead to put her team up 6-3. Just barely into the third quarter, Kent already had two goals and three assists to show for.

Tracy added on with a twizzler to put Team Arsenault up 7-3, securing the hat trick.

Kent notched a hat trick of her own off Kelly McPartland’s interception to continue Team Arsenault’s rally, adding onto an already incredible performance.

Pirreca added on yet another 2-point goal with just under two minutes left in the third quarter, keeping Team Wood in the game.

With 32 seconds left in the quarter, Kent scored her fourth goal of the game to put Team Arsenault up 9-5. Ally Kennedy answered as time ran out, scoring a big goal for Team Wood that won them the 40 double quarter points.

Both defenses started the fourth quarter strong, causing turnovers and preventing the offenses from scoring. The score remained 9-6 with under a minute left in the game, as the goalies shut down every attack.

Late in the game, Waters tried to make Athletes Unlimited history by bringing the ball coast-to-coast down the field herself, but she couldn’t find the back of the net.

With under four seconds left in the game, Aust scored her second goal off the roll dodge to win the quarter for Team Wood. However, it was too little too late – Team Arsenault held out to win 9-7, handing Wood her first loss of the season.

Waters’ outstanding defense earned her 167 points and an MVP 1 selection. Pirreca earned 118 points and was voted MVP 2 for her second performance with two 2-point goals. Kent was named MVP 3 with 118 points after a monster four-goal, four-assist game.