The Whitehall field hockey team has been getting good traction as they maneuver through the early part of their season.

After bursting out of the gate at 2-0, the Zephs played three games last week, losing one, winning one and tying one. Their record now stands at 3-1-1.

They met Easton Area High School under the lights last Thursday at the Sports Complex. Head coach Emily Repsher said it was a game between two evenly matched teams. She also said it was a fast game, played at a quicker pace as compared to their earlier game on grass against Freedom.

"Easton really gave us a run for our money," said Repsher.

Speed is one of the Zephs strong suits. With burners like Taylor George and Kourtney Cunningham on the front line, they pose a big problem for the opposition.

The Zephs were able to generate two goals against a strong Red Rover team, but were still trailing 3-2 with time winding down.

The Zephs had one last shot. They were awarded a penalty corner, and in dramatic fashion buried the equalizer as Kylee Cunningham found the back of the cage, sending the game into overtime. Her game-tying goal was assisted by Vita Marks.

In the overtime, neither team could capitalize and the game ended as a tie.

Repsher said that while penalties may have hurt them, they just had trouble creating opportunities.

"We just weren't able to find our way," said Repsher.

Whitehall got an unassisted goal from George in the first half. In the second half, Kourtney Cunningham got into the scoring column with an assist from Cara Bonshak. The Zephs finished the game with 23 penalty corners and 28 shots on goal. Goalkeeper Kayla Nailor had 14 saves.

The next game was against Moravian Academy. Repsher said it was a really hot day and that fitness would play a part in the outcome.

She said that they started off slow, but picked it up as the game progressed and started to work their combinations. They managed to tally four goals, two of them from Kourtney Cunningham. Also scoring for the Zephs were Kassidy Cunningham and Kylee Cunningham.

Moravian was led by Mayv Clune who had three goals.

The Zephs had 15 shots and 17 penalty corners against the Lions, and Nailor responded with 14 saves.

Repsher said the team began to find its way later, but couldn't overcome the earlier deficit.

"The girls made a good effort toward the end," she said.

The final game of their week was against Hazelton High School. Repsher said they applied the lessons they learned from the Moravian loss and came out strong. She said they were in an attacking mode as soon as the whistle began. It was a strategy to get the Cougars on their heels. Repsher said they were able to capitalize quickly with Kourtney Cunningham (2 goals), Kylee Cunningham and Caitlin Cunningham all finding the back of the cage.

"We were able to expose their weaknesses," said Repsher.

Repsher said they did a good job scoring when the opportunities presented themselves, which weren't very many.

The Zephs were out shot 30-9, but managed goals on four of those opportunities, good for a 44% scoring average for the game. The same scenario was true for penalty corners with the Cougars holding a 21-5 edge in that department.

She said it boiled down to simply converting when they got down the field. They did a good job creating opportunities for one another.

Handling all those scoring chances were Nailor and Gabby Henninger who combined for the win.