Field hockey season comes to a sentimental close

WESTFALL - After losing their closest game of the season which was needed to enter district playoffs in late October, the season ended over for the “tight knit family” known to many at Delaware Valley as the girls’ field hockey team. The team graduated four seniors this year - Melissa Gilroy, Dana Luhrs, Amanda Snyder, and Mikaela Stang. Gilroy has been playing the game since seventh grade and plans on continuing in college. Out of the three sports she participated in every year, she said that her field hockey team has the strongest relationships. “I just love how close we are,” she said. The same was true for Stang, who also has been playing since middle school and described the team as a giant family. Though they both plan on continuing their love for the sport at the collegiate level, each will depart with great sorrow. “It’s sad to see them leave,” said varsity coach Zalewski. Among the biggest challenges in their season was their starting off on the wrong foot. “We had a very rough start in the beginning,” said Stang. “We had high expectations but didn’t win our first game,” explained Gilroy. The team managed to win only one of their first six games. Gilroy continued, “We hoped for better, but all in all, we were successful in the end.” Their final season record was 10-9-1, with a 6-4 record in the league. As for strengths, Zalewski said their midfield was the strongest with other areas being somewhat inexperienced. “We had to make a lot of changes on the field as the season progressed,” she said. Zalewski envisions a more successful season next year with a more experienced team and commended this year’s seniors for their dedication and leadership. “The team was very young this year, but the younger girls really stepped up,” she said. Some memorable experiences for the seniors this year was their trip to Olive Garden following one game in which they scored five goals, a sort of wager they had preceding the game. Gilroy also reminisced on the time the four girls were at a field hockey summer camp before their junior year and managed to be the only girls to flip their canoe over. Both seniors and the coach very distinctly recalled their loss to Honesdale in triple overtime which prevented them from entering district playoffs. Winter sports have now begun, and for at least Gilroy, that means another sport and season to concentrate on, one last time.