Sunday Best: Villa Races Past Rival St. Joe in Field Hockey, 4-1

They say in life, there’s something special about perfect timing.

All day long at Villa Duchesne, the sun peeked in and out of some ominous and foreboding clouds, only to leave the field players of Villa and St. Joseph’s Academy and their fans dry from the elements for over two hours. Just minutes after the horn was sounded, the heavens opened up and it started to rain.

Catch the photo action on the Ladue-Frontenac Facebook page.

By then, Villa players were posing for photos and hugging their family and friends. In one of the longest-standing rivalries in local prep sports, the Saints won a commanding 4-1 win over rival St. Joe.

Former players come back to be recognized

It was alumni day, and players from as far back as the 1960s came to take a bow at halftime. Their highly-regarded former coach, Debby Watson of Villa led everyone onto the track.

On the field, junior Cooper Hudspeth had the Angels all tied up in knots. She managed to find the back of the goal twice in the space of 1 minute 2 seconds to break open a big lead. It held until the final play of the game.

Only Sophia Sansone of St. Joe was able to beat Maggie (Scrabble) Grzeskoviak in the nets. The other goals for Villa were scored by Meaghan Fogarty and Grace Leeker in the second half.

The day was dedicated to field hockey. The freshmen, JV and varsity team all clashed. The JV game ended in a 1-1 tie. The Saints were as red hot as the charcoal on the grills.

Throwback day for Villa

The Villa girls voted to have a throwback game, wearing plaid skirts with commemorative t shirts for their fans.

With that, Villa is 14-5. “We are having a great season,” beamed rookie coach Meredith Rull, who previously played in this series for Villa.

“This is a fun tradition and a huge game. Both teams come out and give 110 percent. The girls were very aggressive and played with a lot of heart,” said Rull.

“(Cooper) Hudspeth had some great goals (early) and it was amazing to watch,” said Rull. “Our goal is to always come out hard and score early and be aggressive and put the other team on their heels as often as we can,” said Rull.

Hudspeth took it all in stride. “It felt good to score those two goals early. "We were fired up. I love this rivalry, the tradition of the Villa and St. Joe game and everyone gets pumped up. Its a community thing,” she said

The goal keeper was glad to chalk up the victory. “Its just really exciting when we are able to beat St. Joe. My defense did a very good job in front of me,” said Grzeskoviak taking off all the heavy pads, she was glad it was over.