Christopher’s Emily Hilkene was scoring goals as if it was business as usual Tuesday. The only thing is, it was the first time she’d played on offense since last season.
The senior — who is normally a defender — scored two goals for the Cougars field hockey team, lifting them to a 3-0 victory over Notre Dame at home.
“Emily started last season as a forward and I pulled her back to defense with the agreement that when the opportunity arose, I’d pull her up,” CHS coach Lia Peterson said. “Today we had a lot of defense but not a lot of forwards because of sickness and people having to do other things. I pulled her up which apparently was a really good idea. … She really did a fabulous job today.”
The Cougars (6-3 overall, 5-1 in league) took a 1-0 lead into the half, the result of an early goal from junior forward Jordan Evanger. Hilkene scored both goals in the second half — one early and one late.
But Christopher’s game against Notre Dame was about more than just a win. The Cougars joined forces with the National Foundation for Cancer Research by taking part in its fundraising program called “Play4theCure”, a national effort in which schools and sports teams donate proceeds from at least one of their games to the cause.
The Cougars sported pink ribbons in their hair as a sign of solidarity for the cause. The Cougars support of “Play4theCure” doesn’t end with this game, however. Any money collected at CHS field hockey home games will be donated to the program.
Hilkene said she was inspired by the game’s theme and they may have led to a boost in her effort on the field.
“It’s really important to me,” Hilkene said. “It’s the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. My history teacher is actually just recovering from breast cancer, so it’s kind of nice to do this; I kind of feel like this game is for her. She’s just barely getting over it, she’s getting her last treatments and she’ll be good to go.”
The Cougars will be back in action at noon on Saturday, taking on University High School of San Francisco at home and Peterson is hoping to correct some aspects of her teams’ game before then.
“We just need to get some better ball control and better ability to pick it up faster in the game,” she said. “I think we were really slow today and we really need to figure out how to get that going before the second half.”
My history teacher is actually just recovering from breast cancer, so it’s kind of nice to do this; I kind of feel like this game is for her.”
