Mary Lancaster '08 (left), Gussie Reilly '08 (center) and Laura Diller '08 (right) captain the Mercersburg field hockey team, and are three of several reasons why the squad has gotten off to such a good start.  The team stands at 5–1 after a Sept. 23 win in its MAPL (Mid-Atlantic Prep League) opener against the Hun School (read the full game recap). Last week against perennial Hagerstown rival St. James School, the team found itself in the hole by two goals after just ten minutes of play. But the Blue Storm rallied back and shut down St. James for the remainder of the afternoon, while Reilly and Lancaster each scored to tie the match.  Then, with just one second to go in the game, Diller notched the winning goal to give the Storm its fourth victory of the season.  It was a dramatic comeback with an incredible finish, but I never learned that these three captains scored the three goals until the end of our 30-minute conversation.

The three senior captains will earn a total of 12 varsity field hockey letters by season’s end.  They know each other well, as players and as friends, and that familiarity quickly becomes evident.  Like a well-strung play that begins on the defensive end with Diller moving the ball to Gussie at midfield, and then on to the strong and speedy Lancaster at forward, the captains speak about the sport with a similar sense of balance and confidence.  Diller begins talking about the season, Gussie picks up on a point and carries it forward, and Lancaster finishes the statement, with all three nodding in agreement.  In fact, I simply gave up trying to record who was speaking at any given time during our talk in Lenfest on Friday afternoon.  To coat this page with commas and splices would misrepresent how easily the three speak as one.  And what they said needed little additional elaboration.

On the team’s success to date:  “We have more depth this year, more experience playing as a team, and there’s a noticeably higher level of play that reaches further into this team than in past years.  I think we already have as many wins this year as we did during all of last year.  Our lines have pretty much been playing together for a couple of years now, so we’ve developed a better understanding of how another person plays.  Our timing gets better and more of the game becomes second nature for us.”

On working together as captains:  “The three of us have played together for so long, and we’re such good friends on and off the field.  We were with the program when it really struggled, and it’s rewarding to know that we’ve helped build this into a strong program.  As captains we balance each other out and we each come from a different line of the field.  Sometimes we react differently on the field.  For instance, Gussie is often the most excitable while Diller tends to be the most steady of the three, so she helps keep us balanced.  We all plan on playing at the college level, so we want to keep it intense, but when we get too intense, Diller helps bring everyone back with her calming, steadfast presence.”  It was clear during the conversation that they all reflexively tend to keep each other in check.  “It’s all wrapped up in the idea of trust.  Over time you learn and then know when to support someone and when to let them go it alone.”

On working with the coaches: “Working with our coaches has really been a reciprocal process.  I think we’ve helped each other get better at what we do.  We’ll miss playing for these coaches after this season.  They put so much into this team, and their hard work and guidance is a big reason for our success this year.”  

On game preparation: “Before games we get together as a team and list our goals, whether they be shots on goal or offensive corners.  Gussie and Mary have been really good at setting those immediate goals for individual games and at encouraging the whole team to set the goals.  Then at halftime the coaches let us know how we’re doing relative to those goals and we’re able to refocus on what needs to get done.”

On MAPL contests: “Two years ago, MAPL games were a real mental challenge for us to get around." [The win over Hun was the team's first MAPL victory in two years.] When asked the reason for the change in attitude towards MAPL games, they summed it up well:  “As a team, we demand something better of ourselves than we used to, so success or failure is determined by us.”

As noted earlier, this team is clearly off to a good start.

--by Phil Kantaros