JAY —The Jay Tigers threw just about everything that they could at Mountain Valley on Monday, but the Falcons weathered the storm.

Whitney Ruff scored a goal and assisted on the winning play to help lift Mountain Valley to a 2-0 triumph over Jay in MVC field hockey action.

The game was important for both teams, and the pace of play bore that out as each squad tries to separate itself from the middle of the crowded MVC standings.

“We needed to hang in there and play as a team,” Mountain Valley coach Melissa Forbes said. “It has been a busy week, we’ve played four games since last Monday and against Telstar for our homecoming on Saturday. The girls are exhausted and dealing with pulled muscles and colds.”

On the winning play, Mountain Valley’s Nicole Burgess scored from the front of the cage with 7:17 to play in the first half. The play began with a penalty corner on the left side, and the ball caromed over to the right wing. Ruff centered a pass to Burgess, who drilled the ball into the left corner past Tigers goalie Ashlee Quirrion (10 saves).

Jay tried to turn the momentum, with senior link Bri Farrington advancing the ball to the Tigers’ underclassmen front line of Rachel Calden, Jahna Couture and Randi Duguay. The strategy did produce several shots, but Mountain Valley keeper Emily Gallant was equal to the task, making several straight-on kick saves. The junior netminder was extremely aggressive and showed great range.

Sweeper Sidney Yahn rotated behind Gallant to clear the balls away, while Alexa Fryover and Makayla White added support.

“Emily is fearless back there,” Forbes said. “At times she may be too aggressive, but she works well with Sidney Yahn who really stepped up.”

The game remained competitive through halftime, and beyond.

“We have a small squad,” Jay coach Jane DiPompo said. “I thought about switching to a zone (defense), but stuck with the basics instead of complicating things. We just were not connecting with our passes, but its coming.”

The Falcons opened up the field in the second half and utilized long drives by midfielders Ayla Allen and Chelsea Bordeau to limit the Tigers from making quick transitions. Jay was awarded five penalty corners in a row, but couldn’t produce any quality shots.

Following a timeout, Ruff added an insurance goal on a penalty corner to give Mountain Valley a 2-0 cushion with 9:28 left in the game.

“Missy has a good, balanced team,” DiPompo said. “They are an aggressive group and keep coming at you, they don’t give up.”