Muddling through some early injuries as well as some setbacks, Catasauqua's field hockey team appears to be clearing their way for the remainder of the season.

The Roughies opened the season with a 6-1 loss to Northampton and then dropped a 3-0 decision to Northern Lehigh.

However, Catty responded with consecutive wins over Northwestern, Palmerton, and Salisbury, before they suffered a 6-1 loss to Southern Lehigh.

Watching her club get back to a .500 record with a 3-3 record, head coach Carrie Saul sees her club being back in the hunt as they head toward their third consecutive district playoff appearance.

"We had a rough start against Northampton," reflected Saul. "We came out flat against them. We were getting beat between the 25s (yard line) and that puts us in a bad spot. We couldn't get going our first two games.

"But then we had three nice games in a row. We have had some injuries and that also played into some things for us."

Saul noted that a handful of players have been injured at the start of the season, one notable player being leading scorer junior Heather Edwards. As a result, freshmen Morgan Meckes and Mackenzie Bradley have been picking up the scoring slack. Junior Quinn Bachman led the team with nine goals beginning the week.

"We have been doing what we need to win," added Saul. "We have had a number of younger players stepping up their game and it has been a big lift for us. Morgan (Meckes) had a couple of goals for us against Palmerton, and Mackenzie (Bradley) has been doing a great job.

"We have a number of girls with experience on this team and they have pulled everything together for us."

Saul also has been pleased with the play of senior goalie Tiffany Murawski, who is in her first varsity season, replacing former standout Jane Matos.

"She has done everything we have asked of her," said Saul of Murawski. "She (Murawski) is not the vocal leader Janae (Matos) was, but she has been doing the job defensively for us. She had some big shoes to fill and has responded well."

Down the stretch, Saul expects her team to continue to answer the call and gain respect as a contender for the Colonial League crown. The Roughies hosted Bangor Tuesday, then will travel to Moravian Academy Thursday and Palisades Saturday.

"We always want to clinch a district berth as soon as we can," said Saul, who has guided the team to the postseason in each of her previous two seasons. "We can't do anything about the way we started, but we will build from it.

"Teams know they will be in a battle with us and we are respected out there. We'll keep playing together and progressing together for the rest of the season."