November 10, 2023 – Story and photos by Joshua Ross
There are many adjectives to describe this year’s field hockey team – talented, disciplined, fast, cohesive, and fun to name a few. But after watching them all season and now three games into the MIAA Division II State Championship, there’s one word that perfectly describes them – suffocating.
They don’t give an inch. Not on offense. Not on defense. They suck the life out of their opponents in all facets of the game. They get in the passing lanes. They block shots (in the rare cases other teams manage to get one off). They chase down loose ball and their passing is pinpoint accurate. They are relentless on penalty corners.
This style of play takes its toll on their opponents and it shows throughout the game. Teams get frustrated and disenfranchised, which leads to mistakes that Hingham usually takes advantage of. They are winning the physical and, whether they intend to or not, the mental battle each and every game. It’s a big reason why they are on an 11 game winning streak and haven’t let up a goal in the playoffs yet.
Friday’s game against 5th seed Minnechaug was no different. 3-0 win, with three different goal scorers and 17-2 penalty corner advantage. Same formula they’ve used for months and teams don’t know how to disrupt it. A formula that has led to the first Final Four appearance the program’s long history.
“It’s awesome,” says senior captain Stella Brazis. “I feel like every year we have gotten better with our teams and we’ve finally gotten to a point where everyone is fully capable.”
“It’s a testament to our hard work,” fellow senior captain Lily Samoska adds. “All practice, every practice we’ve been grinding as a team. Keeping up the energy, even though it’s cold and getting towards the end of the season, we’re not letting up and that showed today.”
When asked about their continued dominance from the regular season into the post season, Samoska, who anchors the defense, credits her offense for their success.
“I think our forwards and midfields are just maintaining control the whole game,” she explains. “From the defensive standpoint, we don’t even see shots back there. So that’s thanks to our midfields and forwards.”
What might be the most amazing part of this whole season is the youth on this team. Every game there is first year varsity player making plays that impact the game. Today it was sophomore Sam Ruddick who scored the game’s first goal four minutes into the second quarter. Tuesday night it was sophomores Sammy Price and Ryan Hallisey who combined for three goals. They play like seasoned veterans in the most pressure packed situations. There might be a good reason for this as Samoska explains.
“Four or five of these girls have been to nationals with their club team, so they are used to the pressure and know what next level field hockey is like.”
The pressure is only going to increase from here on out. Their opponent for the semi-finals will be the winner of Saturday’s game between top seed Reading and 8th seed Canton.
GAME PHOTOS
