As fall sports begin at Madison High School, the varsity girls’ field hockey team enters their season with three consecutive wins against Morristown-Beard (a shutout), Boonton, and Ridge. When looking at the roster, there are only thirteen players, a significant number being underclassmen, yet they have proven themselves ready for their competition.
Last year, during their 2023-2034 season, nine seniors graduated. Not only did they make up a big portion of the team, but some of them went off to play in college. Ally Brosie is now playing Division 1 field hockey at Dartmouth College and Sophia Modi is playing for the club field hockey team at the University of Maryland.
But that didn’t mean there wasn’t still talent on the team. Seniors Emma Wirth and Anna Stuart are committed to playing at the next level. Wirth is continuing her academic and athletic career at Washington and Lee University and Stuart is going to Middlebury College.
Throughout their past couple of games, we have seen these seniors contribute to the success of the team, but we have also seen underclassmen impact these games significantly, filling certain roles that were left empty when seniors left.
Sophomores Lindsay Catchpole and Celia Stuart and freshman Bella Blunda have ten goals added up across these past three games.
We asked senior captains Emme Kassis and Anna Stuart some questions where they shared their thoughts on the upcoming season, how the underclassmen have had a huge impact on the field, and how their coach has made a difference.
Kassis expressed her excitement about the potential of their team saying, “I’m really excited for our season! We all work well together as a unit and we also have some really talented underclassmen so I think we are going to have a great season.” The enthusiasm within the team alone creates an environment that allows everyone to get along which further contributes to their ability to work well together.
Not only are new players making a difference, but their relatively new coach, Sarah Morano, who has been the head coach of this team for about two years now, has made a huge difference as well.
Stuart had only good things to say about their coach “She’s really experienced and knowledgeable about the game so she increased our team’s game sense and level of play.”
Overall, with these factors, the field hockey team has a bright season ahead.