The Varsity Field Hockey Team here at Holyoke High School wrapped up their season one week ago, on October 29th. The final game was a great way to go out, with the squad beating in-league opponent Palmer High School on our home turf 5 – 0. The game locked in our overall season record of 7 – 8 – 3. The team’s record this season is the best it has been in 3 years.

The field hockey team hosted its annual “Senior Knight” a few days prior. The team has 3 seniors this year. The class of 2022 includes Erin O’Donnell, Mae Cahill, and Captain Mikayla Esquilin. The game was Monday night at 6:30. The team played against Pioneer Valley Regional High School on home turf, Roberts Field. It was a nice celebration of the senior athletes.

Senior Mae Cahill has played on the field hockey team for two years. She played defense for the team. Mae plans on going to college and studying theater and communications. Our second Senior, Erin O’Donnell, played field hockey for 7 years, and played for HHS all 4 years. Erin played in the forward and mid-field positions. She hopes to study Pre-Medicine to become a doctor. The team’s third Senior, Captain Mikayla Esquilin, played field hockey for a total of 8 years, playing defense for the team. Mikayla was part of the first group of middle schoolers to play for HHS, which makes her a 5 year high school player. She plans to go to college and study herbalism and botany.

The team this year included the three seniors, three juniors, five sophomores and seven freshmen. Looking ahead, Junior goalkeeper Isabella Murphy stated in an interview with the Herald Staff how excited she is for her next, and final year on the team. Murphy has been playing field hockey for 6 years, and began goalkeeping her sophomore year. She plans to train with her indoor team this winter, to stay on her toes and to come back even stronger than she was this season. Isabella states, “This season was one of the best so far. The team played really well and I am sad that the season has already come to an end! It feels like we were just practicing inside because of the August heat!” When she was prompted the question of what her main GOAL is to accomplish next season, she responded fittingly with, “To stop them!”