By DAVID NAHAN
Sentinel staff
LINWOOD – The Mainland Regional girls field hockey team hasn’t skipped a beat, according to head coach Jill Hatz.
“We’ve got a nice returning crew that are not only talented but they are very team-oriented, motivated – like self-motivated,” she said last week. “We don’t have to kick them into gear too much, and we have a lot of young talent too. It’s a good combination this year.”
Among the “solid crew” returning are Julianna Medina, “Jules,” who is a senior and four-year starter. There is senior Sandi Smoger, one of the team’s forwards. “She has worked so hard to improve, not only on her own with her skills, but in a game sense too.”
Another senior heading into her fourth year of varsity experience is Eva Blanco. A backfield and midfield player is Kathryn Melhorn. “She has taken to field hockey,” Hatz said. “She does club hockey too so she is getting” more experience in the off-season as well. Melhorn is a junior.
Two of the other returners are senior Kylie Carmichael and junior Emily Smith. “They have seen solid varsity time and have experience,” the coach said.
“We haven’t skipped a beat, really,” Hatz said. “I know we lost some of our scorers last year, but we have some nice young talent coming in who are filling in those shoes.”
Other seniors on the team are Courtney Ivins, Gianna DiSanti and Adeline Engle.
Younger players on the team include Grace Bean, a junior who will be one of the forwards. “We have a freshman, Elaina Dinofa. Her sister Arianna just graduated and her other sister is a senior this year. So we’ve had the whole Dinofa crew,” Hatz said. “They’ve been nice little players for us and she is fitting in nicely.”
Junior Farley O’Brien is going to be in goal for the Mustangs this season.
“She is another good returner. She has been with the varsity for a couple of years, but she has always had someone edge her out,” Hatz said. “She has really taken to the position, getting individual training and really stepping in nicely.”
Like other fall coaches welcoming a return to normalcy after a limited 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hatz is telling her players to expect a full season.
“I know we still have a chance of getting shut down, or some other teams not being able to field teams because of the pandemic still, but we’ve got a full schedule and we get right back into the swing of things.”
That 2020 campaign also kept her youngest players from getting playing time.
She noted during the team’s first scrimmage in August, the junior varsity and freshmen, who were mostly freshmen and sophomores, had never played a high school-level game against another team.
“We’re sitting there at the scrimmage and asking them, ‘Why do you look so nervous?’ They’re like, ‘This is our first game!’”
“Oh my goodness, you don’t even think about it,” Hatz said, “but it’s affecting the team because not only are our freshmen new, but are sophomores are new too.”
She did note all of the players are making the adjustments “very nicely.”
Although she knows with rising COVID rates they could experience disruptions this season, they are more confident this year that they will have a normal season, complete with playoffs.
The Mainland Mustangs are pretty competitive every season and she expects no less from her team this fall.
“This year we have even more experience coming back and girls that are filling in those missing spots from graduation very nicely,” Hatz said.
“We’re excited to be able to have a season. We’re having fun so far,” she said. “I think the girls are mostly excited to be out there and have it be normal again and not have to worry about everything. I know it could change but in their heads it’s like normal. They’re ready.”
Her assistants are Erin O’Connell, Caroline Bowman (junior varsity), Taylor Klever (freshmen) and Casey LaFerriere, a school guidance counselor who is volunteering her time.
“We have a nice crew this year,” Hatz said.
