As the fall season came to a close, the girls varsity field hockey team took to the field to compete in the state tournament. They won districts for the first time in several years against Shrewsbury 2-1. The team went on to play in the state tournament making it to the final four teams in the state. They lost in the semi-finals 5-1 against first seed Walpole.
Throughout their season, the field hockey team maintained a positive winning record despite losing 4-2 against Shrewsbury early in the season.
The players agreed they were not giving up on their team.
“The Shrewsbury game wasn’t us. We didn’t play like we usually do,” said senior and varsity field hockey captain Kathryn Guertin. “So next practice we tried even harder.”
Senior and varsity field hockey captain Vittoria Amico agreed that the team needed to make improvements.
“We did drills in practice that we struggled in during the game and after we improved, we believed we would come back better,” said Amico.
The field hockey team went on a six game win streak, and the team hopes to go far beyond last year.
“With the team we have, we want to go to the final four in states and we believe we can,” said senior and varsity captain Kate Connors.
Guertin pointed out that the results from last year did not turn out the way they wanted.
“We lost in the elite eight last year and we weren’t happy with that outcome,” said Guertin.
Having a very familiar group of faces playing together helped the team’s success.
“We have a group that has played together for years and that helps with our chemistry,” said Connors.
Guertin expanded on this chemistry with one another. “This group is very family oriented with many siblings playing together so the chemistry is strong,” said Guertin, whose sister plays on the team as well.
“Not only family members but club teams out of school have grown chemistry as some of us have played with each other for years,” said Amico.
Junior and varsity field hockey player Ella Perry said she appreciates what the seniors have done for the team this year.
“The seniors have been inspiring all year. They have built a strong team unity all year despite having only five seniors on the team. They have done an exceptional job all year,” said Perry.
Varsity field hockey coach Kerry Berry has seen improvements from the start of the season due to team chemistry and leadership.
“It always takes a game or two until I have figured out where everyone works best. Kids graduate and I fill positions through trial and error. We have a strong lineup right now and as we play every day, our skills improve. Our passing game improved as they began to know how to anticipate how the people around them played, and we gained confidence as our corners and plays worked,” said Berry. “We always execute skills faster as the season goes- it becomes more automatic.”