Field Hockey loses 2-0 to Valley Christian High School on its senior night
Seniors reflect on their performance throughout the season and convey their thoughts on the team’s future
Senior Anna Jerolimov maintains possession of the ball as she tries to find an opening to pass the ball to her teammates. Photo by Michelle Zheng
October 31, 2022
Varsity Field Hockey lost 2-0 to Valley Christian High School on their senior night on Wednesday, Oct. 26, ending their season with an overall record of 3-11-2. Despite MVHS’ strong defense, VCHS managed to score two goals in the second and fourth quarters
Nevertheless, taking into account the previous game against VCHS on Monday, Oct. 3, where the team lost 6-0, senior Anna Jerolimov says the team performed really well against the “hardest team in the league” and attributes its improvement to the spirit of senior night, which consisted of posters that filled the sides of the bleachers and a ceremony with flowers and speeches.
Overall, throughout the entire season, Jerolimov believes the team performed relatively well despite the changes the team went through during the season, one being the merge of the JV and Varsity teams. Senior Liana Khorasani says that although the team was worried that the combining could cause issues, it was actually “really cool to have one huge group.”
“At the beginning, it seemed like we were just taking hit after hit because we had very low participation from incoming lower classmen,” Khorasani said. “But when we combined JV and Varsity, even though we thought [the team would] not [be] as bonded, it actually did quite the opposite.”
Furthermore, senior Angelina Alex Roopa says that because the team has such a close bond as a result of this change, senior night was especially bittersweet.
While it was sad to see their final season of their high school career come to an end, all three seniors say the game was a fun experience, as they were able to play with their friends. Alex Roopa and Jerolimov specifically highlighted a positive shift in energy after junior Alice Ross played forward in the third quarter.
“My favorite moment was when Alice Ross got to play forward,” Alex Roopa said. “I’m seeing one of my teammates who has put in a lot of effort [have this opportunity] and I’ve seen her grow from the first time that she started playing, [so it] was super cool to see.”
While the team had improved a lot during the season, Alex Roopa believes the team still has room for growth in future seasons, specifically mentioning the need to “[communicate] more and [include] more team-focused play.” Khorasani agrees with Alex Roopa and hopes the team can work on preventing any “diffusion of responsibility” from occurring, something that was prevalent after the structure of the teams was altered.
“If more players have the courage to take initiative, both during practice and games, [the team] could be a lot stronger,” Khorasani said.
In spite of these concerns, all three seniors have high hopes for the team as the team has a lot of new talents. Jerolimov specifically highlights four players – juniors Olivia Ho and Alice Ross, sophomore Tvisha Jain and freshman Monisha Preetham – claiming “they all have very strong leadership skills and [are] very good at field hockey.”
“We have a lot of new talents, so our team is going to definitely start getting a lot better,” Alex Roopa said. “I’m gonna miss them but I’m excited to see what’s gonna happen in the future.”
