Field Hockey On Their Third Consecutive County Title
On October 19th, Bernards field hockey made history for the third consecutive year. Coming into the season after losing 13 talented seniors from last year, the team was not sure what to expect. Nobody foresaw a successful season for the young team. NJ.com even described Bernards field hockey as “dead in the water”. The team was determined to prove everyone wrong. Captains Meghen Hengerer, Lilly Hengerer, Kate Thomas, and Mackenzie Brown had to lead the way and everyone had to step up, underclassmen included.
The season started out rocky. Beginning with two losses the team dynamic was not up to par yet. All it took was a 6-1 win against Somerville for the team to start their winning streak of seven games. Freshman goalie, Hope Kaczynski, stepped up this season when the team needed her most, allowing for her team’s final impressive record of 15-4-1.
Bridgewater-Raritan and Bernards had faced-off in the past three Somerset county finals. Bernards having won the past two was ready to defend their county title once again. With Hope’s defense by her side: sophomore Emily Romano, junior Tori Baker, and junior Anna Gonella, the team only let in one goal during the intense game. Kaczynski had a total of seven saves this game.
A stellar group of midfielders: sophomore Cristina Manzi, junior Sami Rudolf, senior Lilly Hengerer, and senior Kate Thomas all provided for swift transitions from defense to the forwards. The defense and midfielders have allowed for the team to be very attack-based this season.
Sophomore Nathalie Abello, junior Rory Hanratty, and senior Mackenzie Brown all worked strenuously to finish each and every play. Thomas was quick to score putting the Mountaineers in the lead with just seven minutes into the first half. Gonella passed it to Brown who tapped it in giving Bernards an even bigger lead. Bernards did not stop there.
During halftime Sarah Falzarano, Bernards’ coach, told the team to keep working hard because “two-nothing is comfortable but not comfortable enough.” Thomas was determined to put more in the back of the net\; she did so by passing the ball to Lilly Hengerer who tapped it in, making the score 3-0. Kate Thomas shot with just 1:57 remaining on the clock, leaving Bernards with a win of 4-1: their third county title.
Bernards field hockey graduates five seniors: the Hengerers will continue their field hockey careers at the University of Virginia and the team can not wait to see what Kate Thomas, Mackenzie Brown, and Gabby Lakatos accomplish in their respective post-graduate endeavors.
