WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield High field hockey team finished up their season with a hard-fought, 2-2 tie against Wilmington on Oct. 23 at Landrigan.
That tie came a few days after the Warriors celebrated their 13 seniors on Senior Night, Oct. 20. Wakefield came up just short to Stoneham, 2-1 in that game.
An excellent effort and close loss didn’t damper the evening for Wakefield’s seniors and their families who were honored beforehand.
“It wasn’t the outcome we wanted but we were able to celebrate our seniors,” said head coach Cara Luca. “These 13 seniors are a special group. They have dedicated hours to practice, teamwork and skills these past four years. I said to the girls as they took the field, ‘don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.’ They have formed friendships and memories that will leave an impact on the field hockey program.”
Wakefield’s seniors — captains Sophia DeAngelis, Maya Kenny and Allison Pesa along with Julianna DiMare, Alice Getty, McKayla Herzog, Rory McNeill, Antonia Nardone, Scarlett Najarian, Ellie Ortega, Elizabeth Pritchard, Lucy Spry and Sophia Tulipani — had a great group of fans there to celebrate their dedication to the team along with future Warriors as the youth field hockey program was out in full force as well.
“It was great having our youth teams come out and support the girls,” said Luca. “Coach Tina Mattera has done wonders for the youth program trying to build it back up in Wakefield. It was great to see the future field hockey players of WMHS.
“Thank you to all of our friends and families who came out to support the girls.”
Although the season hasn’t gone as Wakefield had hoped, the Warriors made sure to finish on a positive note last week with a 2-2 tie against the Wildcats, a playoff team who is getting ready to compete in the Div. 3 state tournament.
“It was an intense game,” said Luca. “If we played that way earlier in the year, our season would have looked very different. They played with intensity and never gave up.”
Wakefield got goals from DiMare and junior Lucy Sarkissian, coming back from an early deficit before the defense battled to keep it even.
“It was a great game to watch,” said Luca. “I was proud of how they came back. There is a lot to take from that game and move forward to next season.”
The Warriors will miss their 13 seniors who left a strong imprint on the program, but they will return seven current juniors to lead the way next year.