Sports

Hilltoppers Ready for Season at Fall Field Hockey Classic

Girls field hockey prepares for upcoming season.

The Summit High School girls field hockey coaches and players hosted a Fall Classic for seven other districts, including Bridgewater, Chatham, Newton, Northern Highland, South Plainfield, Voorhees and Wall on Saturday.

The preseason event was a warm up for the Summit field hockey program and gave both varsity and junior varsity players the opportunity to test their skills before the actual season starts on September 10.

"We anticipate a winning year," said head coach Jen Schwarzenbek. "Our girls have been working very hard preseason and we are developing depth in all our classes.  While we lost some powerful seniors in '09, we have nine returning seniors who bring great energy and leadership to the field."

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Senior Captain Katie Stuke, a four year varsity player, said the senior leaders are ready to pass on the Summit fiel dhockey traditions to the newers players.

"My expectation is for every player to work hard everyday in practice and to step up and give 100 percent in every game," she said. "If we play like a team, we can't be stopped."

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The team made it to the Group II State Semifinal against Madison last year but fell to the Dodgers 3-1, ending a nine-game winning streak. The Hilltoppers ended the season 17-5.

In Saturday's scrimmage, Summit players from all grades stepped onto the varsity field.  While Schwarzenbek was more concerned with testing out combinations and players than the final score, the team walked away with a 1-2 record for the day.  In addition to new field players, varsity also has a new junior goalie with Grace Berkery stepping into the box.  Saturday was her second varsity experience and the junior proved a formidable opponent testing forwards and saving some powerful shots.

Senior captain Faith Tully, another four year varsity player, is making it a point to motivate her teammates.

"I always remind the girls to put everything they have on the field, forget the boys, drama, school and think about the field," she said. "Every game is important no matter what the competition is like."

While Saturday's fall classic more like a practice than an actual game, Tully said the team still has a lot to work on.

"We all thought we did very well; we have some young girls on the team and we're still getting used to each other," she said. "Hosting this tournament really helped us to come together as a team."

The Hilltoppers host Pingry at 4 p.m. this afternoon at Summit High School.


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