Sisters help Cougars to split of opening games
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
It didn’t take much to hook Jenna and Kayla Bendinelli on field hockey.
The twin sisters started playing in seventh grade and by eighth grade they were playing club field hockey year-round. Their dedication has paid off in helping the seniors become two of the most talented players for a Montgomery High School team thin on returning experience.
”We are young,” said MHS head coach Tiffany Trockenbrod. “We graduated eight starting seniors that went to a sectional championship. To be honest, our first scrimmage against Steinert, even though we played on grass, I was really surprised and happy how the team was playing. The Bendinellis have a big part in that.”
Jenna, who is a minute older than Kayla, has been a fixture in the back. Jenna was a contributor as a sophomore, then broke into the starting lineup last year at right back. This year, she moves to center back.
”She is, in my option, our strongest back,” Kayla said. “She holds our defense together. She plays in the center. She does a good job of stepping up and does a good job of helping the midfield keep the ball above the 50.”
Kayla started on attack last year, her first season back for the Cougars after a back injury cost her her sophomore season. This year, she has slid back to play right midfield.
”I think she’s been doing a really good job,” Jenna said. “She works hard to make sure the ball stays in our offense zone and she’s kept it in the circle a lot. She’s also there for tips and she helps on the defensive end too.”
The sisters scored a goal apiece in the Cougars’ 3-1 win over Princeton Day School to open the season Friday. Maeve Dwyer scored the only other goal and Jillian Farley accounted for the one assist for MHS, which slipped to 1-1 with a 1-0 loss to Phillipsburg on Saturday despite eight saves from Katie Moyle.
”There are a lot of new players on the field,” Kayla said. “We had to learn how to play with each other and how they’d be and how to work together.
”Going in, I was a little concerned because had a lot of new starters, but now we’re playing together and we do have potential.”
The Cougars face plenty of challenges in the weeks ahead. They play Hillsborough today, play Warren Hills on Thursday, then South Plainfield on Saturday.
”We worked really hard throughout preseason,” Jenna said. “I feel like we’ve gotten a lot better and connected as a team. We’re more confident because we’re seeing we’re connecting and have a lot of potential.”
With so many new pieces in the starting lineup, the Cougars have been using the preseason to figure out how they can work together best. The Bendillini sisters, Farley and left back Sarah Boyer are their only returning starters. MHS isn’t especially deep either this year, but they have players that can help.
”When we came into the season,” Trockenbrod said, “we had those three or four players that were going to be certain spots so we were able to fill around them.”
After a year up front, Kayla was happy to move back to the midfield. She feels more valuable there.
”I do prefer the midfield because you have a little more control of the game,” said Kayla, whose year of varsity starting experience helps the young team. “It’s allowed me to help the other players and show them where to be. It’s hard for the coaches to help all the kids. I’m able to work with the forward in front of me, and the girl behind me. She hasn’t had much experience at the varsity level.”
Jenna does the same in the back. Whereas she was on a side last year, she is in the middle of play this year.
”Now I get a lot more plays and I have to make sure I see other defenders are in position,” Jenna said. “Before I focused on my position. Now I’m more involved in plays. Now I move up the field more and help up the field offensively more than I did last year.”
Said Trockenbrod: “We’re still young in the back. Right back, sweeper and goalie are all new to playing varsity. My sweeper is a junior. My right back is a junior. They’re not young, but they’re young playing varsity.”
There are only four seniors on the team, but they have been a part of the MHS program that has blossomed in recent years. Reaching the sectional finals was starting to become a realistic annual goal.
”It does help give us a goal to try to live up to previous teams,” Kayla said. “It encourages us to work harder because we had success in the past and we know what it feels like.”
Starting off the season with a win over PDS was encouraging. The preseason has also shown that the Cougars will be a competitive team if they continue to progress.
”I think it went well,” Kayla said of the preseason. “One thing we do well this year that we haven’t done is we play well as a team and we communicate. We don’t have one individual we can rely on. We have to work together. It helped Friday at PDS. We had a good passing game and were able to capitalize on it.”
The Bendinelli girls have stepped up for the Cougars to fill a leadership void left by the graduation of a strong senior class. Trockenbrod has noticed a difference in the two this year.
”In the beginning of their careers, they were very quiet,” she said. “This year, they’ve been very vocal and very good at organizing the team on the field and letting the other players know where they need to be and where to play the ball. Also, they play year-round and they have been since their freshman year so they bring a lot of experience to the team.”
Practice doesn’t have to end with their school or club teams. The two practice together in their backyard plenty.
”When we practice together, she challenges me the most,” Jenna said. “She challenges me to be the best player I can be. It also helps to have someone to ask questions and see where she’s coming from.”
Jenna also used to play a lot of softball, but her focus narrowed to field hockey.
”I like that’s a faster paced game than softball,” Jenna said. “I really like playing with my sister. I found it was more of a challenge for me.”
Being twin sisters, and practicing so much together has paid off for the duo on the field. They have an innate sense of how to help each other.
”We played together our whole careers,” Kayla said. “We know where each other are going to be, what we need. I can tell when she’s looking for me and I can get open for a pass.”
It’s no surprise that the two will continue their playing careers together. They are committed to play for Dickinson College next year. The Cougars are happy to have them for one more season to help sustain what has been quite a successful program in recent seasons.
”It is helpful for them to remember what we have done in the last three years,” Trockenbrod said. “I think we’re caught in this cycle. We’re in a cycle where I have to get kids more interested in playing outside of the season again. I have to find these kids and motivate them to play year-round. We have to build it back up again.”