Northeast Field Hockey Set On Improvement

The challenges are new this year for the Northeast field hockey program, which is now competing in the county’s C tier.

“Number-one goal is to be more competitive and add to our win column,” said head coach Gina Ward after a recent game at Annapolis High School.

So far, the Eagles are on course to achieve that goal. Having notched three wins last season, Northeast has two already this year: The Eagles scored a 3-1 defeat over Long Reach on the first day of school, getting two goals from senior captain Sydney Langlois and the first career varsity goal from freshman Julia Rafiq, assisted by sophomore Ashley Gernert. On September 14, the Eagles got their first county win in a 2-1, double-overtime defeat of North County in which senior Mary Dispaldo’s brace included the sudden-victory goal in the second overtime off an assist from Rafiq. Senior Jayda Griffin and junior Kendall Boyd were monstrous on defense for the Eagles, who got seven saves from goalie Carly Gernert in the victory over the Knights.

PHOTO GALLERY: Northeast field hockey vs. Annapolis

The two wins are good for the morale of a program that faces its share of hurdles. Without a feeder system, area girls have to trek down to Lake Shore if they want to play field hockey, deflecting many of them to soccer or other pursuits.

Still, the group they have this year is ready to make an impact. Captains Langlois, Griffin, Brianna Benge and Lisa McChesney as well as seniors Dispaldo, Carly Gernert, Micah Santos, Kristen Wright, Kassidee Wright, Amaya Barboza, Haven Bennett and Logan Domanski offer experience, while juniors Boyd, Madelyn Watson, Trinity Gray, Sydney Makarovich, Kaitlyn Wedemeyer and Grace Muller give the Eagles a team full of upperclassmen. Sophomore Ashley Gernert and freshman Rafiq and Alena Pangalis and round out the Eagles roster.

Langlois, a four-year member of the team, thinks the Eagles will be competitive.

“I think we have a lot of potential,” she said. “We have a lot of new girls who came on. I think we can make a good impact on the C League and be on top of the tier. … I’m just excited to see the hard work.”

Bolstering their pursuits is the infusion of young coaches familiar with the program. Madalyn Conger (formerly Philhower) and Courtney Woolford graduated from Northeast in 2013 and both played college lacrosse, Conger at Liberty and Woolford at LaSalle, while Emma Graybill, who played field hockey at Roanoke, and Erin Fischer (NHS ’11) are also young, no-nonsense coaches helping Ward and assistant coach Arlene Reuss; Fischer is coaching the JV team as well.

“I like [having the young coaches who played at Northeast], especially since all the young coaches have been coached by the head coaches,” said Benge. “They understand and they’re relatable, and they know how to push us.”

With the team’s new and more appropriate schedule — no games against the Severna Parks, Broadnecks and South Rivers of the world — a season of improvement and some playoff noise are not out of the question.

“This season we can come back and have a winning record,” said Benge.