Evelyn Ruan also contributed to this article.
Midway through the fall sports season, many teams are thriving, winning game after game. The MHS field hockey team is known for its GBL wins, especially over the past five years. This year, however, the team’s record has seen challenges, with losses accumulating to a 0-10 record. Rather than prioritizing statistics, they now have a much different approach, focusing on team rebuilding and bonding.
With many seniors graduating from the team last year, the remaining players had to work twice as hard to recruit new ones. With the help of bake sales, interest meetings, and showcasing the strong bond the team has built, they were able to create interest for others to join.
This season, the team received an influx of new players, ranging from 8th graders to seniors with different levels of experience in the sport. Assistant coach Daniel O’Toole, also 2024 Editor-in-Chief for The Blue and Gold, explained that the team is focused on “taking time and practice” to learn different forms and basic techniques in field hockey, such as hitting, passing, positioning, and more.
“Although we have lost our games so far, our team has been working on staying positive and recognizing the growth that every player has shown throughout the season,” Head Coach Tiffany Cane commented.
This year, the field hockey team has three captains: junior Frankie Marenghi-Pellino, junior Cathen Fontanilla, and senior Audrey Nguyen. “Being a captain comes with a lot of responsibility, but watching my team grow and their drive to win pushes me to improve—for myself and for them,” reflected first-time captain, Fontanilla.
Similarly, Nguyen shared that being captain “has been a learning experience. It’s not just about leading, but also supporting and encouraging everyone. It’s really rewarding seeing the newer players get more confident.”
During their game against Peabody on September 15th, like any other game, the players felt nervous, and it was a tough match for them. “Before the game, we were all feeling anxious and under pressure,” Fontanilla stated. Though Malden tried their best to stay tough and play defensively, Peabody’s strong offense allowed them a score of 4-0 in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Malden seemed to lose their sense of direction, having difficulty communicating with each other and spreading out throughout the field, letting Peabody end the quarter with a 5-0 lead.
While playing, many players often feel frustrated with their performance. Like many, senior Kenny Diaz Osorio felt that way, but he also shared that “Coach O’Toole told me to keep track, keep trying, and don’t give up.”
Like the first and second quarters, Malden experienced difficulty in the second half of the game. During their pep-talk at halftime, both Coach Cane and Coach O’Toole wanted the team to work on their communication, going wide, and making space for players trying to make a pass. Malden seemed more confident after the pep-talk and was able to help each other out on the field. Though their defense was much better, it unfortunately did not hold back Peabody from scoring another point within the first few minutes, and scoring another towards the end, which brought the score to 7-0.
That 7-0 score did not kill Malden’s spirit as they focused on what both Coach Cane and O’Toole had said earlier, now being more assertive and getting a much better feel of the gameplay.
Though the outcome was not the best, with an 8-0 loss, Cane sees this differently. “We were the most successful fall team for the past six years, and this year looks a lot different. We play a lot differently, and we are learning the basics, but that doesn’t mean our team isn’t wonderful.” She positively added, “I want my players to feel like a family because we are one.”
“Sometimes I feel discouraged knowing we probably won’t win the game. But, during and after the game, I realize the scoreboard doesn’t matter. Our development and growth do. Picking up any new skill or strengthening a skill is a win in my book,” Marenghi-Pellino shared.
Likewise, junior Yasmina Goucem shared that she felt nervous, as it is her first year, and she’s never played Peabody before, and didn’t know how they played as a team, but after the game, she felt “really good.”
“Although we are missing a lot of good players, we have a lot of new players. Every game, everyone in here gets better each time, especially our eighth graders,” mentioned senior Osorio.
Nguyen remarked that she is “looking forward to bonding more with everyone and seeing how much we grow as a team by the end of the season, and definitely having a lot of fun this season.”
Coach Cane wants to emphasize that when players first join, they should feel welcomed and accepted for whatever skill level and experience they have in field hockey, and that encourages more people to join the team. “I think when students see how close our players become, it makes them interested in joining too,” she observed.
“We want to really encourage new players to join, even if you haven’t played a sport before. If you come to one of our games, you can see it on the field, on the sidelines, everybody’s so welcoming,” voiced Coach O’Toole.
For the rest of this season, the field hockey team will focus on their goals of “development, rebuilding the program, and especially building friendship,” Marenghi-Pellino concluded.
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