By John Goralski Sports Writer Last year, the Lady Knights seemed to scowl each time the ball skipped off a tuft of grass to spark an official’s whistle. Each time an offensive rush was stalled by a string of whistles, the girls would glance longingly at the construction of Southington’s artificial turf field. It was a long wait for everyone, but nobody wanted it more than the field hockey girls. “It would make us better,” their coach would wail as perennial powerhouse teams out-lasted us with superior skills. “It’s going to be different,” they charged as the losses piled up. On the last day of the season, officials finally opened the gates. The win made believers of even their harshest critic. “It’s a completely different game on the turf,” said Lady Knight coach Erin Luddy. “Soccer is still pretty much the same thing. Football is similar, but in this sport it allows the ball to stay completely on the ground. No matter how good the grass is, that can’t happen. There are irregular pop-ups that change the speed of the game. It changes how you run, how you pass from offense to defense, and how you field quickly. The impact [...]
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