By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Filling spots left open due to graduation is always a difficult task for any team. But that’s the situation facing Packet-area field hockey coaches as they prepare to enter the season.
The Hun School has a solid nucleus returning that will need to step in and help fill some of the holes in the Raiders’ lineup.
“We have a lot of holes to fill, but we are working hard to find the right combinations,” Hun coach Kathy Quirk said. “We need to play with confidence that we can play with the best.”
The Raiders return Julie Fassl, Kate Davis, Delia Lawver, Julia Revock, Sophie Albanese and Helena Hemberger to the lineup and will count on a group of newcomers that includes goalkeeper MC Shea as well Emily Segal and Meghan Donohue.
At Princeton Day School, the Panthers lost five starters to graduation and will look to some talented returning players to help fill the void.
“We are excited to return a young group of players,” PDS coach Heather Farlow said. “Kiely French and Elizabeth Brennan will head up the defense with goalkeeper Lexi Hausheer. We are hoping to generate offense from returning starters, Madison Mundenar, Val Radvany, Gretchen Lindenfeldar, Sasha Sindhwani and Gwen Allen. We are also excited about new varsity players, Caroline Haggerty, Julia Lach and Eva Petschnigg.”
Stuart Country Day School also has some strong leadership in its returning veteran players.
“The team has shown good balance in the midfield and has an experienced goalkeeper in Alexxa Newman,” Stuart coach Missy Bruvik said. “The versatility of Izy Engel and Maddie Michaels should be key to Stuart’s transition game. Seniors Rachel Asir and Jess D’Amico will be on the attack line along with Catherine Biava, Ali Hannah and Elle Wigder.
“Underclassmen will have to fill some big roles this year. Senior leadership has been excellent and has provided a strong foundation for the underclassmen.”
The Stuart seniors are Asir, D’Amico, Engel and Newman, while the juniors are Biava, Hannah, Samantha Johnson, Brittney Jones, Michaels and Wigder.
WW-P North returns a solid core group of players in Lexi Duplak, Lauren Hausheer, Gitika Maheshwari and Danielle Brubaker. Newcomers Kayli Ko and Shalu Bhardwaj also figure to play key roles this season.
“The team is very reflective,” Knights coach Paula Tessein said. “Each player is being very supportive of one another; they are trying to learn how each other plays with a lot of newcomers and others in new positions. We’re hoping for an exciting season.”
At WW-P South, second-year coach Laura McCormick’s team is coming off a 6-14 season and is looking to improve.
“The senior class this year has already stepped up into the leadership role,” McCormick said. “This year our team is very close with each other and we are excited to come out hard and work towards reaching our team goals. Our seniors are leading these girls in the right direction and we are looking forward to having a successful season.”
The seniors on the South roster are Rhea Nair, Vashyi Shah, Yael Yonah, Yun-Oh Park and Kendall Ku.
Princeton High has a deeper group of returning players than most teams. The Little Tigers will look to parlay that experience into another solid season.
“We have a fairly seasoned group with some good experience under our belts,” Princeton coach Heather Serverson said. “We have some excellent returning players, but the key for us this season will be figuring out how we play best together.”
Seniors on the roster are Jordyn Cane, Anna Cincotta, Kennedy Corrado, Madeline Deutsch, Gwen Koehler, Lilian Leonard, Georgia McLean, Avery Peterson, Jamaica Ponder and Kate Wenzler. The juniors are Lisette Dubow, Margaret Jacobs and Katherine Rogers, while the sophomore group includes Dylan Cane, Renee Hoevers, Chloe Koehler and Mariana Lopez-Ona.
Montgomery lost eight key seniors to graduation and will be looking to rebuild this season.
The returning group includes Maeve Dwyer, Bella Van Mol, Ally Duran, Chloe Kuc, Kylla Przekop, Trisha Pimenta and Abby Hoos. The newcomers will be led by Liv Valazza, Kate Baldauf, Colleen Hennessey, Gemma Lumsden, Kelsey McAllister, Payton Edwards and Bauke Gatzen.
“After graduating eight seniors from last year, I expect this year to be a rebuilding year,” Montgomery coach Tiffany Trockenbrod said. “We are young but we are excited to play.”
