Varsity Field Hockey Celebrates Senior Night
Wednesday marked the end of an era for 7 MHS seniors who are playing in their last season as Mustangs and Varsity Field Hockey celebrated their Senior Night Sept. 29. Captain Kenzie Petch, senior, said she felt optimistic after she and her senior teammates were celebrated with bouquets of flowers and hand-made posters by their families and teammates.
“I felt pretty confident,” Petch said. “I had a lot of people that were coming to watch and support me and I felt the whole team was ready to go.”
The Mustangs battled the Pioneers to a 1-1 tie with a late goal by Cece Kreh, junior near the end of the fourth quarter, but lost in sudden death overtime 2-1.
Midfielder Jennifer Liu, senior, said that this year’s senior class has a special bond that has been developing since the start of their high school career.
Liu said that a common theme on the team is the importance of hard work, not only on the field but in school and in their personal lives. Liu is coming off of an ankle injury that she suffered in practice but said it’s not keeping her down.
“You have to put in effort if you want to see results,” she said. “When things don’t go your way you can always bounce back.”
Petch said this year the team’s commitment to hard work has really paid off. Petch is committed to play at Maryville University, an NCAA Division II school, and said she is looking forward to the next level.
“I think it will be a huge change. It’ll be more competitive, and I think high school has prepared me to take it to the next level,” Petch said.
As captain and leading scorer with seven goals, Petch said she wants the values of this season’s team to be carried on.
“Good players are the ones who desire to play,” she said. “You really need to work together as a team and put in a bunch of effort.”
Assistant coach, Jenna King, said that she tries to help her players to develop skills in practice that they can use outside of their field hockey careers.
“The biggest thing is how players treat each other,” King said. “Outside of field hockey, outside of high school, we want to help them build healthy relationships and have those values of hard work, determination and perseverance.”
King said seeing the seniors leave this year is bittersweet.
“It’s always hard to have your seniors leave. Coach Walters and I are so proud of the senior group and how hard they worked,” she said. “Come back and visit us, don’t be strangers.”
Varsity Field Hockey has a 4-7 record heading into their next game at 10 a.m. at home against Lafayette October 2.
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