Despite the loss of two division 1-bound players, the girls’ varsity field hockey team is hoping to continue where they left off.

Izzy Fratt (’10) and Anna Krane (’10) both are moving forward with their field hockey careers at Cornell University and the University of Vermont.

These teammates were not only great players, but they also provided the team with tremendous leadership.

“These players were team leaders last year,” senior Lily Gage said. “So, they left a lot of leadership roles as well.”

Part of the team’s success this year was being able to find players willing to step up and take these roles.

“We have a great group of underclassmen that have helped fill these gaps,” Gage said.” “We also have an awesome group of seniors that have really stepped it up this year.”

Several of these players include sophomore Christina DiFelice and freshman Zoe Marquis-Kelley.
“Zoe Marquis-Kelley is a freshman who made varsity this year and has really helped us out starting on defense,” senior Monica Gierada said. “Christina DiFelice is a starting mid who helps out so much on offense and defense, and has scored a lot of goals for us.”

However, the team hasn’t been exactly “lights out “ throughout the year. In the beginning of the season, the team played hesitantly on defense and it had little success offensively.

“At the beginning of the season we played a lot more defensively,” Gierada said, “but as the season has gone on, we’ve gotten used to playing as a team and our offense has really stepped up and started scoring way more than at the beginning of the season.”

This is a good sign for the field hockey team as districts started Monday, Oct. 18. In order for them to win games at the district level, both the offense and defense must work together and show consistency week after week.

“With districts starting on Monday I think we really want to continue to come together as a team,” senior Helen Wiley said.

Their team has done just that as they won all three of their games in the week prior to district play. Wiley said the win streak could be mainly attributed to two key players.

“Maddy Bullard has done a really good job leading the forward line and setting an example for the rest of the team,” Wiley said. “Jaclyn Poe has also been really important for the team. She works so hard every game in the midfield and helps pull it all together.”

Their three-game win streak will surely help their team look ahead to the rest of the schedule and be able to move on from the disappointing losses earlier in the season.

“We have had a rough season,” Wiley said. “But we are finally learning how to play together and work off of people’s strengths on the field,”