The Girls’ Varsity Field Hockey team won back to back Nassau County Championships. They won this year with a big score of 5-1! We wanted to gain some insight from these successful athletes on how they were able to tackle the championship head on. The coaches, Coach McGuinness and Coach Ortega, asked the team some questions, as prepared by our journalists, about their preparation for the championship. These are snippets of the quotes they gave in response to the questions.

To begin the interview, the girls were asked what was the most challenging aspect of the championship. The team responded with “Staying composed, playing our game, the speed/aggression of the other team.” As a follow up, they were also asked how they were able to overcome this challenge. They responded with, “Talking to each other, staying positive as a team, playing our game, dedication to our stick work, preparing with hard practices beforehand, playing selflessly.” They certainly showed their sportsmanship during the game! 

Because of their dedication, we wanted some insight into how they were able to prepare for this challenging championship. The girls were asked how they all prepared for the big game during practices and what they focused on strengthening. They recalled, “Putting in 100% of your effort, playing how you would in the game during practice.” It seems that these athletes understand the importance of practice. Whether it’s a championship game or an after school practice, these girls put their all into the sport. 

The Chief also wanted to know more about the team as well, knowing that for many seniors, this may be their last championship. The girls were asked the following questions: Which team members do you all believe really took the lead during the game? What makes you say that? They enthusiastically responded with, “Captains and the Seniors – could have been their last game, so played like it was their last. Ellie Leisen and Maya Hassett in particular controlled the midfield. Colleen Emanuele in goal shut down the other team to make sure defenders were marked. Kate Ciarlo had 3 goals. Nikki Buffolino had Kate’s 3 assists and she scored 1 goal.” It is clear that the team knows their players very well, including their strengths and weaknesses. 

This is a team unlike any other, as evident by their dedication to each other. We wanted to know what they learned about teamwork from their past experiences in athletics. They gave some advice on how they were able to work together: “Team bonding is really important to stay united on the field. It’s important to have an on the field and off the field bond, stay composed. Everytime we worked together, we won our games!” 

The varsity team absolutely killed it this season! They “were written by chaos 2022” (an inside joke among the team members). It was amazing what the team accomplished this year. We can’t wait to see what more Massapequa sports has to offer!