By Piper Butler and Isabell Fujita
The 2023 fall sports season was exciting, with volleyball and water polo tournaments, tennis and golf matches, and cross country meets filling the busy calendar. In addition to these, the field hockey games were exhilarating. With a strong defense, fast offense, and talented goalie, the team worked together and had fun, with a record of 3 wins, 3 ties with overtime, and 1 loss. The team persevered through challenging games and always worked together.
With a 6-0 win against York School and a 0-0 tie in overtime to Carmel High, the 2023 team had a promising start. The Carmel game was long and tiring, but the players showed their resilience and stamina by persevering, especially in the seven minutes of six-player overtime. The next game, against Stevenson, was an unfortunate loss, but the players bounced back for an exciting 0-0 tie to Hollister, ranked first in the league. Regarding the game against Stevenson, senior Cora Derbin says: “We knew we could play better.” The team focused on preparing for the game against Hollister, Cora describes, saying that “[they] came back stronger.”
This year’s team was led by head coach Julian Salas, assistant coach Evan Schu, and captains Megan Barry-Schoen, Bianca Fritz, and Cora Derbin. With junior Sofia McHugh in goal and top scorer Skyler Smith ’24 on offense, the games never lacked excitement and dedication. Regarding this year’s team, Assistant Coach Evan remarked, “What impressed me the most was how hard [they] fought in all these intense games that we had and the spirit that [they] had to shut out opponents time and time again. [They] only had five goals against you, which says a lot about [the team’s] defensive tenacity.”
One of the team’s strongest elements was the defense. “We have a solid defense that people can barely get through.” said junior Sawyer Vogel. The defense showed strong unity, keeping possession of the ball for most of each game.
“Although impacted by our difficult schedule, our team seems cohesive and better than ever!” exclaimed junior Olivia da Silva. Although facing tough schedules and a lack of extra time, the girls came together to create a strong bond on the field hockey team, facing every new challenge together as a community.
The team continued to work together and showed their utmost determination, going on to compete in the CCS (Central Coast Section) first round against Presentation High School. They tied the game 1-1, going into two rounds of 0-0 overtime, then lost after two rounds of shootouts. This game showed the team’s determination and stamina as they held their own, even in overtime and throughout the shootout. The team is proud of their exciting season and can’t wait to play again next fall!
LAMPLIGHTER 