By Lexi Nelson
Sports Reporter
The Newton South field hockey team had their last game on Friday, ending the season with a hard-fought 0-0 tie against Ursuline. The Lions record was 4-11-4 on the season in a competitive Dual County League.
South’s losing record does not reflect the effort and dedication of the team, who competed against some of the best teams in the state.
“Our record doesn’t necessarily show how much better we got. Many of those ties and losses were very close games, and we always gave 110%,” junior Kerry Yang said. “I’m positive that we’ll keep improving and that we’re on the right track.”
The team ended with the best record field hockey has seen in years. A majority of the team began playing field hockey at Newton South, whereas other teams across Massachusetts have been playing since they were in elementary school.
“We all worked together and stayed positive. This allowed us to be extremely competitive with strong teams like Acton-Boxborough and Westford, who are ranked highly in the state.” senior captain Morgan Neuwirth said. “Throughout the past four years, I’ve seen the program grow and thrive, and I couldn’t be prouder of this team.”
Seniors Ruslan Crosby and Allie Arruda were a dynamic duo on the forward line, with instrumental support in the midfield from Yang, seniors Julia Estrin and Sara Fazli, and senior captain Madison Mixer. Senior captains Neuwirth, Ava Morollo and senior Kara Medoff led the defense throughout the season, with help from junior Brianna Weissel.
Although they will lose fourteen seniors next year, the Lions remain optimistic about the seasons ahead of them. Sophomores Olivia Hackel, Sophie Szymanski and Nola Quinn all proved themselves as capable offensive players, despite being the youngest on the team. Members of the JV also team show promise to be strong players on the varsity level.
“We’re going to be a really young team next year, but I think that we’re a motivated group and a lot of us are planning to train in the offseason.” Yang said. “It’s always tough to play in the DCL. All we can do is work hard and prove to those teams that we can and will compete with them in the future.”
