Field Hockey: Kara Leonard Comes Through for Cougars on Senior Night

The Oakton field hockey team started the note on a high, celebrating its 12 seniors on the last home game of the season.

Each had family flanking them to escort them onto field as reminiscences, written by the players themselves, were announced over the loud speaker.

"They're just a great bunch of girls. All of them work hard every day. They've set a really strong example for the younger girls," Ruch said of her seniors after the game.

But when the festivities ended, the atmosphere became tense. The South County Stallions matched up well with the Cougars in speed and size, and the teams engaged in a hard-fought battle that remained scoreless through regulation.

The Cougars and Stallions found themselves in familiar territory. Last season, the Cougars fell to the Stallions 2-1 in an overtime battle. But Oakton was not about to let that happen to them again. Not on Senior Night.

With 4:55 left in overtime, senior Kara Leonard scored the only goal of the game for a Cougar victory.

"I think Senior Night was an extra little motivation, and we got a bit of sweet redemption, so that was nice," said head coach Kate Ruch.

The back-and-forth nature of the game led to impressive defense to keep the game close, most notably from senior goalie Mira Tanenbaum, who made 16 saves.

"Our goalie came up huge with a lot of really pivotal saves. A lot of them were point-blank, really nice shots," said Ruch, who also said the Stallions are the strongest team they've faced all year. "She single-handedly kept us in this game."

Though the night began with the field hockey team reflecting on its time with the seniors, it ended with a sharp focus on moving forward. The Cougars have five games to play in eight days, starting today at McLean.