Norwood Field Hockey

Last fall, the Norwood field hockey team punched their ticket to the Division 1 South Tournament for the seventh straight time, posting a 9-8-1 record. While the Mustangs have continuously found their way into the tournament, once there, they haven’t fared too well. Over the previous seven appearances, Norwood has had five one and done games, and capturing a total of three victories in the other two years. Mustang Coach Alison Doliner wants to improve those stats this fall.
“We’ve had too many years where we haven’t gotten out of the first round,” the Norwood Coach said. “This year, not only do I want to get back to the tournament but I want to actually do something once we are there.”
As the Mustangs move closer to this year’s midway point of the season, Norwood is currently 5-2 overall, and 5-1 in their new league (Tri Valley League, TVL). Doliner is rather excited and happy with the way the girls have been competing but there are still plenty of games in the season.
“Playing in the TVL, there is as good balance of competition, just as there was in the Bay State League. The first time around has been different as neither team really knows much about the other being that this is our first year within in the league,” Doliner said. “We are not playing our best field hockey yet. The plan is to come in and win right away, not to wait for the second half of the season and have to win to get into the tournament.”
With 12 games on the docket as of this writing, the Mustangs need to only win four more games to earn a spot in the Division 1 South Tournament, but the squad doesn’t want to settle for just four victories.
Senior captains, Rose Campbell, a sweeper this year, and Beth Garczynski, who moved from a forward to a center midfielder last year, are confident and ready to take the Mustangs to the next level. Campbell will anchor the defense, while Garczynski will control the pace of the game in addition to playing solid on both sides of the ball. Campbell and Garczynski both have been starters since their freshman campaigns for the Mustangs.
Doliner will rely on Allie McDonough, Maggie Curran and Allie Martin to provide the bulk of the scoring. McDonough, a center forward, was the team’s leading scorer last year and currently has 10 goals and 3 assists this season, while Curran, a sophomore wing, has contributed 3 goals and 2 assists. Martin, who was the team’s first athlete off the bench last fall and is starting for the first time, has already knocked home 2 goals and added 4 assists.
In the back, junior center back Noelle Connelly has been playing fantastic defense for Norwood, while freshman Talia Fruci has been minding the net with the best of them. The first year keeper has faced 49 shots in her first seven games, while allowing only 8 to get by her.
“Talia is having a phenomenal season so far,” Doliner said. “While the opposing teams have 49 shots on her, 21 alone came in the Walpole game where she gave up 2 of her 8 goals.”
Kate Rogers is the team’s back-up goalie, while the rest of the team includes junior left mid Julie Salviggo, freshman starting right back Maddy Barry and starting right mid Shannon Gover and defender Delaney Gover (Shannon’s twin sister). Also looking to help get the team back into the tournament are Caroline Davey, Katie Welch, Myra Hines, Theresa Flaherty, Emily Trahon, Brianna LeBlac, Mary Lee and Molly Mannering.
Although only a handful of wins away from getting back to the tournament for the eighth straight year, Doliner is looking for the team to make improvements on a weekly basis.
“I’m hoping that we can continue to play consistently while developing our game and putting it all together for a full 60 minutes,” Doliner said. “If we do that, and continue to improve the little things, we’ll be ready for the tournament.”
And if the Mustangs finding themselves peaking near the end of the season with all things going in the right direction, Norwood should hopefully be able to make a run at the Division 1 South Championship.