This year’s field hockey team looks to build upon their winning streak after finishing with a record-breaking undefeated 20-0 season in 2017.
Currently, the squad is undefeated with an overall record of 8-0 and a league record of 2-0. The results of the game against Glendora High School were not available as of press time.
There are many reasons that the team is undefeated so far this season, Head Coach Erin Creznic said.
“The girls have great chemistry, and they all have a lot of fun playing together as a team,” Creznic said. “We’ve also been fortunate to have 12 returning players from last year’s record-breaking team, who have experienced firsthand what it takes to win championships. The players work hard every practice to improve their skills and to push their games to the next level. Finally, we have been lucky to have three outstanding freshmen, [Bella Ganocy ’22, Ella Ganocy ’22 and Fiene Oerlemans ’22,] join the team this year; all of whom are great at scoring.”
The team has not lost a game since the 2016 season. Center mid fielder Rachel Brown ’20 said that she attributes the team’s success to the strong bonds among teammates.
“We are all good friends on and off the field,” Brown said. “This allows us to have amazing chemistry and no teammate ever gets down about a mistake because they know that the whole team supports them. I truly love this team.”
During practices, forward Sam Yeh ’20 said that the players prepare and focus on what they can improve on before the next game.
“In practices, we’re always very competitive with each other,” Yeh said. “We have a lot of fun but we always push each other to get better and play harder which helps the team’s overall skill a lot.”
Compared to last season, this year’s team has allowed more goals. The squad has let in five goals through eight games after letting in only three goals in all 20 games last season. The results of the game against Glendora on Tuesday were unavailable as of press time.
Despite the strong start to the season, Creznic said that she believes there are a few areas in which the team can improve.
“I feel like the biggest area that we need to focus on is our defense,” Creznic said. “As the saying goes, ‘Offense wins games, but defense wins championships,’ and we haven’t been tested much on defense, which worries me.”
This year’s team consists of five seniors, Isabella Guanche ’19, Isabella Huang ’19, Pizer, Cypress Toomey ’19 and Emily Wesel ’19, compared to last season’s 11 seniors. The team lost many seniors that played important roles in last year’s CIF title-winning season including current field hockey player at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mia Reilly ’18. However, the returning players on the team said that they believe the current seniors have brought the same energy and leadership that the captains did last year.
“The seniors have been a huge factor in our success, both on the field as instrumental players and as leaders off the field,” defender Scarlett Strasberg ’20 said. “During practice and before games they keep us focused and inspired. On the field, they consistently play great games and are amazing team players.”
The Wolverines are scheduled to play Chaminade High School on Thursday in a non-league match up and Westlake High School on Monday in a league match up. Last season, the team shut out both Chaminade and Westlake finishing 2-0 against each team.
