By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Rameen Masood isn’t quite sure if she will have the chance to play college field hockey so she is making the most of her last year in high school.
In her first year as a starter at center back, the West Windsor-Plainsboro North senior has helped the Knights open with a pair of shutout wins. WW-P North topped Nottingham, 8-0, Tuesday and then shut out Lawrence, 2-0, Wednesday.
“It’s been going really well,” Masood said. “We only have about six returning varsity players. We knew we had to figure a way to mesh everyone together and figure out our playing styles. In the beginning of the season, we struggled a bit with connecting. In our first two games, we’ve connected a lot and improved and started to understand each other’s playing styles.”
With so many new parts on the field, it was natural that it would take a little time for the Knights to figure out each other’s strengths. They’ve done so in leaps and bounds.
“This is only our second game,” said Knights head coach Paula Tessein after Wednesday’s win. “We had three scrimmages, including Play Day. Our first scrimmage, we played Cumberland and that was an eye opener. It was a true scrimmage. It’s why you play scrimmages, you learn a lot about yourselves. We lost, 7-0, and this was two and a half weeks ago. I have to say, looking at that team on that day and the team today, the girls have made tremendous growth. The thing I notice about this team is they come in and listen and then they apply.”
Tessein has seen it at both ends of the field. She saw her offense roar to life against Nottingham. Jackie Markisz scored three goals and added two assists, Alexis Duplak had three goals and an assist, Carolyn Ciolfi had a goal and assist, Emily Bartell had a goal and Sara Gostomski and Jacelyn Tarn had an assist apiece. Lauren Hausheer had to make just one save. In the win over Lawrence, Bartell and Gostomski had a goal apiece and Gitika Maheshwari and Markisz had an assist apiece. The attack had been an area of concern before that promising two-game stretch to start the year.
“It’s pretty much a whole new front line,” Tessein said. “Emily Bartell played varsity, then we have three new people beside her. We’re doing well and trying to keep that consistent pressure in the circle. “There’s not one person on the team, on or off, that could do this alone. They need one another to be successful. These past two games, they’ve shown that. They’ve come together and rely on one another. Every one of them, I’m proud of their success and how they’re moving forward.”
As good as the offensive explosion of the gates has been going into today’s game against Ewing, the defense might be more impressive. It did not force Hausheer to have to make even one save against Lawrence, and she only touched it once against Nottingham.
“Our defense communicates really well,” Masood explained. “We always know where we’re supposed to go and we keep the diagonal on defense. Our goalkeeper, Lauren, is telling us who is open. And everyone is calling out who they have. We’re constantly doing it. Even if we see something on the field offensively, like who’s open, we let them know so they can see it.”
Masood likes being in the center of the action on defense. She doesn’t anticipate scoring any goals this year and even an assist would be hard to come by, and that’s fine with her.
“I’ve always played defense,” she said. “I think it’s just my aggressiveness. I like stopping balls. I’ve always been really aggressive and I’m not really fearful of the ball. If it’s coming down to goal, I try to time myself and go in at the right time so they don’t beat me.”
The Knights have been good about limiting defensive corners and cutting down on scoring chances for opponents.
“My backs have been really solid,” Tessein said. “I think Lauren didn’t have a touch today. And she only had one touch yesterday.”
Joining Masood on defense to help make the shutouts possible are backs Emma Killeen and Emma Turney. Masood thinks that WW-P North could be even stingier if they weren’t so kind.
“Maybe we could get better at being more aggressive and coming to the ball more,” she said. “I consider us a really nice team. We need to stop being so nice. A lot of girls have a lot of potential on the team. We run a lot and we have the stamina. We need that extra push to close the games. We had a couple offensive corners, but we didn’t always capitalize on them. Today we did better and against Nottingham, better than our scrimmages.”
Masood is settling into her role in the back. Being a starter for the first time has been a reward for her perseverance and dedication.
“I really like it,” Masood said. “I love playing field hockey. It’s a lot of fun. A bunch of us weren’t playing because we had so many upperclassmen on the team last year. A bunch of us knew each other from before. Now that we’re playing on the field together, it’s a really good feeling.”
Most of the team is new to starting. Only Hausheer, Brubaker and Gostomski were full-time starters last year. It has forced new faces to step up this season. Masood is one of those new leaders for the Knights. She has a vital role as the middle of the last line of defense.
“Rameen is really just a solid player,” Tessein said. “The team looks to her. She’s one of those silent defenders. She just comes out of nowhere and swoops in. She’s been consistent from Day One. She’s totally a player that leads by example. She doesn’t ask of anyone what she doesn’t first give.”
As the team and the defense strives to strengthen and the offense starts to really click, the Knights think they can be competitive with almost anyone. They will take on Hopewell Valley, Robbinsville and Seneca in next week’s slate. The goals are ever changing as WW-P North tries to make the most of its team.
“We reflect on our games a lot,” Masood said. “Our coach has us write in a journal to talk about what we did well and what we did wrong and we talk about what we want to work on and talk about it later. We have a bunch of goals each game.”
Those goals are moving in the right direction. Masood is feeling more confident about the Knights this season with every day.
“I think definitely going into preseason and when we had summer sessions, I wasn’t sure where were going to be, because I didn’t know how everyone played,” Masood said. “We worked hard in preseason to figure out each other’s playing styles. Now I have a lot of confidence in us. And we all get along well on and off the field. I think if we stay focused we can do really well this season.”
