On Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, the Berkeley High School girls varsity field hockey team faced up against Convent of the Sacred Heart in a hard fought game that ended in both teams not being able to score a single point. Even though the game ended in a 0-0 draw, the match was full of defensive grit and tension, particularly towards the end of the game.
Immediately after the first whistle was blown, Sacred Heart kept the ball on Berkeley’s side for much of the first quarter, forcing Berkeley's defense to stay sharp. The Sacred Heart team made advances up the field and were able to take a shot at the goal, but it was successfully blocked by the Jackets.
After half time, BHS came back stronger and wasn’t stuck on defense like they were before.
“We focused on transition passes and just transitioning between offense and defense,” BHS sophomore Nellie Evans said, commenting on the team’s strategy.
As the game entered its final ten minutes, Berkeley began to gain momentum.“Towards the end of the game, we realized that we actually wanted to win, and this wasn’t gonna happen with the way we were playing, so we had to step up our game,” Evans said. The team held the ball in Sacred Heart’s half of the field and had a hopeful opportunity at breaking the tie, but wasn’t quite able to get the ball where they wanted it. The team just fell short before the final whistle blew.
“The game was stressful, because the score was 0–0 the entire time, and we just wanted to get a point on the board,” Ava Witschi, a sophomore player said.
Despite the frustration of not being able to score a goal, team member senior Moss Vorobyeva emphasized the team's chemistry, “A lot of us have played together for a really long time,” Vorobyeva said, “it’s really just the chemistry and being able to trust that this person has got my back.”
Vorobyeva also praised the team’s determination in the final minutes of the game, “Even though we didn’t score, our last defender pushed all the way up to midfield and got it so close to the goal. In those last five minutes, there was such a push from everyone.”
Although the team hoped to beat Sacred Heart after losing a close game to them earlier in the season, Berkeley feels optimistic for future games and hopes to continue to improve at practices.
“Going forward,” Evans said, “we just need to talk more, communicate, and connect our passes quicker.”