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It’s all about making the state tournament — and that is what fall high school athletes work for since cutting their summer vacations short in late August to get ready for the season.
Winchester is fortunate to have talented athletes to reach that goal the majority of the time, with some going one step further to be one of the elite Top 10 teams in their respective sports throughout the state.
Field hockey, coached by Michelle White, is one of those clubs. They finished up the regular season with a 15-3 record, and, as a result, are the fifth seed in Division 1. A total of 33 teams made the postseason from this division, including the Arlington Spy Ponders (3-11-4, 28th seed), a familiar foe, whom the Red & Black will be playing at Knowlton on Saturday, Nov. 1, in the Round of 32 game, beginning at noon.
They have already defeated the Ponders twice this year during the regular season on Sept. 5 and Oct. 14, both via shutouts by a combined score of 10-0.
The Winchester girls are naturally feeling pretty good about themselves heading into the state tournament, and coach White can’t wait to get started.
“The team is confident and connected right now,” she said. “We’ve been playing our best (field) hockey over the last few weeks, moving the ball with pace and supporting each other away from the ball, while finishing off our chances in the circle.”
The Red & Black are in the middle of a six-game winning streak, their last victory coming against non-league host Masco on Oct. 26, 3-0.
“We have stayed focused (through it all) by controlling what we can control, while playing to our own identity rather than the scoreboard, which has helped us stay consistent,” White said.
Their most recent streak started off against the aforementioned Spy Ponders, a 4-0 win at Arlington. Sloane McCarthy ignited the offense with a goal set up by Sam Gal. Gal then scored the second goal assisted by Madison von Mering. Stella DeCristoforo from Addy Aufiero and Julia Fredey from Emme McCabe rounded out the scoring in this game.
The team then took off for Burlington to face the Red Devils on Oct. 16, where it posted another shutout, this time by a 2-0 score. Gal got it going with a goal from Addy Aufiero. Ellie Drake added the all-important insurance tally assisted by Joyce Chen.
They returned home to defeat Woburn going away, 7-1 on Oct. 20. Gal scored the first two goals of this game, with von Mering assisting on both scores. But Drake ended up pacing the attack with four markers. Aufiero, Chen and McCabe assisted on three of them, while one was on a solo effort. McCarthy also notched a goal from Fredey. Goalie Isabella Bogovich was credited with five saves to help keep her teammates comfortably in front.
It was time to go back on the road again to Reading, but it didn’t matter, because it turned into another triumph, their fourth in a row, 5-2 on Oct. 22.
Fredey scored twice against the Rockets to lead the way, Chen and Drake picked up the helpers. Drake also tacked on a goal from Chen, who then scored with assists going to Gal and von Mering. Stella DeCristoforo chipped in with the fifth goal. Gal and von Mering were the playmakers, once again.
Belmont was next up at home on Oct. 24. It was a close battle, with Winchester prevailing, 2-1. Chen from Aufiero and Drake from Fredey produced the goals, before the team wrapped up the regular season against the Chieftains.
Each player on the team has been a factor in compiling all these wins.
“We’ve had strong contributions across the board, but a few players have really elevated their play down the stretch,” said White. “Sam Gal has been great in the midfield, distributing the ball and setting the tone defensively. Stella DeChristoforo has been a spark on the right side, creating many transitional scoring opportunities with her clears out of our defensive end. Addy Aufiero and Madison von Mering have anchored the defense with composure and discipline, while Ellie Drake and Joyce Chen have been keys in transitioning from defense to offense. And of course, there’s Isabella Bogovich in net, who has been a wall back there, (stopping practically everything in sight to date).”
White added that the team has embraced its roles, and takes pride in continuing to do the little things like communicating, moving without the ball and getting in the right position on defense. But the veteran coach doesn’t like to compare her teams over the years.
“Every team has its own personality, but this one, in particular, stands out for its balance. We’re strong all the way through from defense to midfield to attack,” she said.
If the Winchester girls get by Arlington on Saturday, they will get another home game at Knowlton. It will be a Sweet 16 matchup between the winner of the Bishop Fenwick (8-9-1, 12th seed) / North Andover (7-6-5, 21st seed) Round of 32 game that was also played on Saturday. Check out miaa.net for the date, time and place of the game.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News last November.
