Nauset Field Hockey Proves They Belong In Tournament Run

MEDFIELD – A quick glance at Nauset field hockey’s record and their standing in the MIAA Div. 3 state tournament makes it seem like there was some sort of typographical or data input error.

The Warriors — who won four of their 18 games — not only qualified for the tournament but did so relatively safely, ranking 20th of the bracket’s 35 teams. They were seeded higher than teams that won more than double and triple the amount of games Nauset (4-11-3) won this year. 

Nauset went on to prove that they entirely belonged among the playoff field and in the process picked up the program’s first state tournament win in more than 20 years. 

To start, the Warriors beat No. 13 Nantucket 2-1 in the first round on Nov. 2, an upset win against a Whalers team (12-5-1) that Nauset had lost to and tied earlier in the regular season. In the second round on Nov. 5, the Warriors kept it close with No. 4 Medfield (13-5) for a full 60 minutes, eventually falling 2-1. 

Even with the below .500 record, the Warriors knew they could compete with the division’s best field hockey teams, something they demonstrated in full during their two playoff games. 

“We knew we had a complete chance, and I think that having that attitude and that mentality is just very special, and these girls are very determined, and they work very, very hard, and they execute the gameplans that we have,” head coach Tia Raspante said.

Nauset’s regular season schedule, the strength of which got them into the tournament, included matches against the No. 1 and 2 seeds in Div. 4 (Monomoy and Dennis-Yarmouth) and the No. 2 seed in Div. 3 (Sandwich). Of Nauset’s 18 regular season games, 14 were against teams that made the tournament. 

“We played very well against all the hard teams, so it's nothing different playing against these really good teams,” senior Chloe Hand said after facing Medfield. “So we thought we would do well.”

The win against Nantucket was Nauset field hockey’s first playoff victory since at least 2006. Freshman Reese Ferguson and sophomore Maeve Kennally scored while Hand had an assist for the Warriors. Piecing the entire season together, the result was exactly what it should have been, Raspante said.

“We've been battling this whole season, and then to get that W against Nantucket, I think it was kind of like, ‘Wow, everything that we've been doing this whole season is paying off, and it's just coming together and it's working,’” Raspante said. “And I think that that game we couldn't have played better.”

In the following round’s matchup, Medfield and Nauset (both Warriors teams) competed through a scoreless first half. With a sunset sky blazing orange above Medfield’s home turf, the host Warriors and visiting Warriors played an even first quarter. Nauset senior Morgan Connery made a big play on defense toward the end of the period. 

Close chances defined the second quarter as Medfield controlled to start. Nauset sophomore goalkeeper Cecilia Hand made a huge save on a ball rolling up and off a deflection, then the Warriors just missed wide past the left post after earning a pair of penalty corners on the other side of the field. As the last seconds of the half ticked away, a Medfield shot similarly just missed wide of the goal.

Medfield finally broke through with a score in the third quarter by senior Eva Thomson and another in the fourth by senior Cecelia Crosby. Junior Brooke Malmquist assisted both goals. With only a few minutes remaining, Hand scored to halve the deficit. Nauset mounted one last offensive push before time expired. 

Raspante said she was “proud of the way we battled.”

“I think 2-1 to a team that's No. 4 in Div. 3 is absolutely amazing, and it shows the future that we have as a program, and we have some very young girls on our team, so I'm excited to see where it's going to go for next year,” Raspante said. 

For senior players like Hand, the playoff run was likely especially meaningful. The Warriors went one-and-done in the state tournament three of the previous four seasons. That they advanced to the second round this year demonstrates how the program has been built up over the years. 

“I'm very proud of us, and I think we worked really hard for this,” Hand said.