Celia Gallagher ’21 Ella Sundstrom ’21:
Photo courtesy of The Chestnut Hill Local
Field hockey team member, Jessica Miller ‘21 says, “Because we were so successful last year, we definitely have a target on our back to perform the way we did last year.” Coming out of the PAISAA tournament last year as champions, the pressure is on for the EA girls field hockey team to repeat last year’s events. In the preseason rankings, the team was ranked second in Pennsylvania and fourth in the nation.
Despite losing four multi-year All-League honorees last year, hope lies in a young squad as well as in two new additions to the team, Ashley Sessa ‘22 (UNC ‘26) and Mia Garber ‘22, making for a promising and bright future. Athletic Director Gina Buggy says, “I think we’re a pretty young team, with lots of talent in a variety of positions. We also have a ton of energy and lots of motivation.” Using this combination of variety, talent, and strong senior leadership, the team has high hopes for the 2019 season.
With a current record of 8-1, their sole loss being to The Hill School, the team is looking to bounce back. Macy Szukics ‘22 (Duke ‘26) claims, “We faced an upsetting loss to The Hill School, so we would like to come back stronger than ever and beat them the second time around.” They look to continue to stay positive and work hard throughout the rest of the season, moving forward together with strength and consistency. Buggy believes that the team’s unity will bring their success. Teammate Ashley Sessa ‘22 agrees saying, “We always work together no matter what. No one plays for themselves.”
A typical practice for the field hockey team consists of warm ups led by senior captains Melanie Lim (Wesleyan ‘24), Louisa Baxter (Georgetown ‘24), and Kathleen Anderson (Cornell ’24), followed by skill development, and small game activities where Buggy says she “tries to work with the girls on more strategic things while creating an environment where the kids can think about the game beyond the skills and execution.”
At a recent practice, the team came together to form three core goals for their 2019 season. They hope to go undefeated for the rest of the season, win the Inter-Ac title, and win the PAISAA tournament. The team plans to do this with a positive attitude as well as a lot of communication, both on and off the field. In addition to this, Szukics says the team wants to “continue to improve our speed and overall sense of togetherness, along with continuing to be supportive while keeping our composure on the field when games get close and things become frantic.”
Looking forward as they approach the halfway point of the season, the team has 10 Inter-Ac games left, as well as one non-league game. Lastly, they have the PAISAA tournament, where they will look to defend their title from last year. They also hope to be victorious in the historic Agnis Irwin-EA game to help bring home the banner once again.