10/ 15 Sion vs. Heritage Hall

JV Sion 1 – 0 Heritage Hall

Varsity Sion 2 – 1 Heritage Hall

Sion welcomed Heritage Hall from Oklahoma City for their Senior Day, and last home games of the season. The seven seniors of Sion all started the game, with  Sarah Arnoldi coming back from her ACL injury to make a cameo appearance for a couple of seconds before being replaced. Hannah Griffith, Maggie Frame, Grace Angrisano, Abbey Jones, Jessica Diaz, Sabrina Kowalik all featured prominently in the opening half. Grace pouncing on a loose ball to slot the ball reverse stick through the legs of the on rushing goalkeeper. Heritage Hall responded with a goal from a penalty corner to level the scores before half time.

Madison Hummel moved into the sweeper position for the second half, and allowed Kristen Murphy to venture into midfield. This allowed the ever impressive Frame and Griffith the freedom to foray into opposition territory. Freshmen forward Lauren Redmond latched onto a hard driven ball in front of goal to score her first senior goal of her career. The Storm were firmly on top of a rapidly tiring opposition, and the score finished 2-1.

Sion JV team clearly benefited from a tough schedule away in St. Louis the week prior. Dana Rozell, Sydney Daniels and Maggie Kane put in impressive displays in midfield, whilst Maggie Keenan, Nicole McMindes and Meredith Sanders were impervious in defense. Lucy Miller and Jessica Tierney pressed valiantly upfront and the pressure finally told, with Tierney pouncing on a loose ball upfront to win a hard fought battle 1-0.

Sion vs. Aquinas 10/11

C team 0 – 0 Aquinas

JV 3 – 0 Aquinas

Notre Dame de Sion had GB Triple Olympian Simon Mason on the sidelines for their matchup against St Thomas Aquinas. Still hurting from their 3-2 defeat a week earlier, the Storm JV were keen for some payback. Kristen Murphy and Isabel Grojean pulled the strings in midfield, and 2 goals from Grojean and Maggie McLiney led the Storm into a 2-0 lead into the break. With some words of advice and inspiration from Simon Mason at halftime, Sion dominated possession in the second half and Kristen Murphy added to the tally to finish the game victorious 3-0

Sion Storm C Team battled to a 0-0 against the Saints of Aquinas.

10/4 Harper Lanning and Meredith Sanders had great defensive displays against the Raiders JV team. A sluggish start to the contest saw the team concede two goals, but had numerous scoring chances, but failed to capitalize on their opportunities. Lauren Redmond was again majestic upfront and Dana Rozell was dominant in midfield. The score remained 2-0 at the final whistle.

Emma Grojean scored twice for the Varsity team against Pembroke Hill to tie the match at 2-2 during regulation play. Pembroke Hill scored the single goal during the following penalty stroke competition to narrowly win this close fought contest. Sion were first on the board with a goal mouth scramble after some good work down he right channel by Hannah Griffith and  Sabrina Kowalik. Isabel Grojean shackled the Raiders forward  line for the majority of the game but the raiders scored either side of half time to take a 2-1 lead with 6 minutes remaining on the clock. Emma Grojean again being in the right place at the right time to level the scores and send the contest to strokes. Sabrina Kowalik in goal made 4 saves, but was beaten by a solitary goal to hand the win to the Raiders in strokes.

10/1 The Sion Storm came up against the Edwardsville Tigers of Illinois this past Saturday. On a crisp, bright morning it was the Tigers who were awake early into the jv game, scoring two quick goals. Sion finally awoke from their slumber and began to find their rhythm. Lauren Redmond and Emily Schnitker steadied the ship and Catherine Ancona was gripping and ripping the ball out of defense. Unfortunately, they were unable to break the steadfast Tigers defense and the game ended 2-0.

The varsity team came out of the traps quickly to dominate the early stages of their game versus Edwardsville. The Grojean sisters occupied the center midfield positions from absent seniors Griffith and Frame, and Grace Angrisano had a couple of marauding runs into the opposition circle, and a goal line scramble off a corner from Kristen Murphy, but could not convert their chances. Sion were undone by the well worked Tiger penalty corner routines, conceding three soft corners in the first half which the Tigers converted two. The Storm went into half time 2-0.

Abby Warrington stepped up to the varsity level with a comfortable display in the right back position. Lauren Redmond also made a cameo performance upfront. Senior Sarah Arnoldi pulled up suddenly early into the second half with an injury to her knee, and the team hope she won’t be on the sidelines too long and wish her a speedy recovery. Sion again conceded from another well worked corner and open play goal to lead 4-0, before Grace Angrisano reacted quickly in the right wing position and hit Sabrina Kowalik with a quick free hit, with Kowalik calmly guiding the ball with her first touch past the on rushing GK. Unfortunately it was all too late to add to their tally, and the 4-1 result didn’t reflect the closeness of both teams. A case of taking the chances in front of goal when they appear.

9/24 Senior Sabrina Kowalik scored a pair of goals and freshmen goalkeeper Meredith Sanders posted another shutout in the 3-0 win against the Tigers of Oakville on Saturday afternoon. Missing the midfield dynamic duo of Frame and Griffith, the Storm made hard work of scoring against their much improved opponents from St. Louis. Jessica Diaz converted from a penalty corner to go into half time 1-0. Maggie Keenan and Abby Warrington stepped up to the varsity level with some assured displays in defense. Sabrina Kowalik scored her first ever goal early in the second half, but the Storm attack were stifled by the Tiger's goalkeeper and were unfortunate not to add to their tally. Kowalik added her second career goal late in the game with another poacher’s goal to finish the game 3-0.

9/20 In the Storm's home opener against in town rival Pembroke Hill, the Varsity were out to avenge their 3-0 loss earlier in the season with home field advantage. The team started brightly and managed to defend stoutly with Isabel Grojean, Kristen Murphy and Hanna Meek shackling the Raiders offense and Freshmen GK Meredith Sanders shining in her first Varsity outing. All the hard work on the practice field paid off and sticking to a high pressure game-plan the deadlock was broken when Grace Angrisano broke free to smash a drive past the onrushing goalkeeper and take the Storm 1-0 to the good into half time. The second half saw Hannah Griffith and Maggie Frame take control in the midfield. From an offensive penalty corner breakdown, quick thinking from Griffith took a quick free hit, drove into the circle and unleashed an unstoppable drive off the inside of the post to drive the bumper crowd wild! Things got even better soon after with a well worked penalty corner routine with injector Kristen Murphy deflecting neatly at the back post. The Storm were unlucky not to add to their tally, but were more than happy with a 3-0 shutout win, with Freshmen Sanders and Grojean candidates for game MVP!

The JV team started sluggishly and conceded early from a defensive mistake, but recovered to enjoy periods of pressure with Lauren Redmond showing some nice touches up front and Abby Warrington in central defense. Emily Schnitker injected some needed energy in the midfield but the Storm went down fighting, at the final whistle Meredith Sanders saved a penalty stroke to end the game the wrong end of 2-0 scoreline.

9/13 Goalkeeper Meredith Sanders recorded her first shutout win in Sion's 1-0 win against Pembroke Hill C Team. The Storm freshmen team put in an impressive defensive display, absorbing numerous penalty corner threats and hit the Raiders on the counter attack. Lauren Redmond finished clinically past the on rushing goalkeeper after being played through by midfield maestro Isabel Grojean just before half time. The Storm worked hard as a team when Zoey Sweeny was yellow carded for dangerous play, and held on for a well deserved victory.

9/9 The Sion Storm field hockey team kicked off their regular season with tough losses against in town rival Pembroke Hill. The JV team competed admirably with notable performances from Harper Lanning, Lauren Redmond and Meredith Sanders. But finished the game the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline. The Varsity team started brightly but lapses in concentration cost them dearly, and were unable to convert numerous goalmouth opportunities and the final 3-0 score was an unfair reflection on a pretty open game. Freshmen Isabel Grojean put in a solid display in defense along with Maggie Keenan in goal, and Sabrina Kowalik was denied twice by the goalkeeper and goalpost respectively.

9/6 Notre Dame de Sion field hockey kicked off their season in St. Louis at the Gateway Classic over the Labor Day weekend. Placed in a higher division than previous years, the challenge was always going to be a tough one for the Storm.

In the excessive heat of Friday afternoon, the first opponents were Kentucky Country Day, a skilled and well drilled team from Louisville. With this being the first game of the season, on a fast turf and new team members stepping up to the Varsity level, Sion struggled to find their feet early and found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-0 scoreline. With the high heat and humidity the whole travel squad was utilized, and the team kept it tight towards the end of the game.

With only two hours between games, the Storm's second game under the Friday night lights was against Brookfield Academy (WI). The storm switched some personnel and implemented a new defensive formation, and jumped out of the blocks and thoroughly dominated the first half of the game. Hannah Griffith and Maggie Frame ran the show from midfield and the team were finally rewarded for their attacking style, with Emma Grojean finally prodding home a goal mouth scramble to go up 1-0. A defensive mistake led to a penalty corner for Brookfield which they converted to tie the game. from the resulting restart Grace Angrisano decided to take matters into her own hands and weaved her way through the opposition, eliminating several players on her way before driving into the area and leashing a powerful lifted drive past the oncoming goalie. A truly great individual goal, and already a candidate for goal of the season! The Storm lost their way a little and conceded another penalty corner goal late in the second half, the game ended 2-2.

Sion started brightly in the third and final game in the heat and humidity of Saturday morning against Kirkwood of St. Louis. Griffith and Angrisano again showing their attacking prowess and were unfortunate to not convert their chances in front of goal. Against the run of play Kirkwood scored from a flowing passing move and the Storm found themselves behind. Concentration began to wane in the heat and humidity and the team went into half time down 2-0. Kristen Murphy had an impressive display with her distribution as sweeper and freshman Isabel Grojean showed maturity in midfield. Unfortunately lapses of concentration saw Sion concede two more goals. The final 4-0 result was not a fair reflection on the game. The Sion team and coaching staff learned some valuable lessons that will benefit them for the regular season ahead, with some encouraging displays and areas to work in equal measures.