Mahopac Indians Field Hockey Team Expects To Be Strong Despite Key Losses

MAHOPAC—Normally a team that loses many key players due to graduation would consider the following season to be a rebuilding one. That's not the case for the Mahopac High School field hockey team, which finished the 2009 season with a 8-6-2 record and advanced to the second round of the Section 1 playoffs before losing to Suffern.

Liana Viaggio The Indians come into the 2010 season having lost 11 players from last year's team. However, coach Donna DiMaggio is not expecting this year to be a rebuilding one, due to the fact that many of last year's younger players gained a lot of experience and are being counted on to lead the 2010 squad.

"I have very high hopes. We have very experienced girls coming back," DiMaggio said.

Among the key losses from last year's team are utility player Jackie Reger, defender Clarissa Zamora, midfielder Caitlin Baranowski, forward Courtney Stein, forward Ashley John and midfielder/defender Caitlin Pfister.

Kaitlin McCormack The returning starters for this season are senior attacker Liana Viaggio, junior midfielder Abigail Armstrong, senior forward Annie Carroll, junior defender Jacquie Reiser and senior goalie Kaitlin McCormack.

Other returning players are senior forward Sarah Gianta, senior forward Samantha Nardo, senior midfielder Catherine Lee and senior defender Aleigh Knudsen.

The team's key newcomers include sophomore defenders Samantha Karner and Meagan Wright, sophomore attacker Courtney Shay and junior midfielder Tori Cirocco.

Although she is very excited about what her team could do this season, DiMaggio seems to have a simple goal. "Our goal is to be better than we were last year," she said.

Her players came into the preseason very motivated due to a close, heartbreaking loss to Suffern in the sectionals last year. It seems as if the players are taking that negative and turning it into a positive that can help them this year.

Abby Armstrong "They are hungry. They want it this year. Our preseason has been very strong," DiMaggio said.

The coach is planning to have this year's squad be one that goes strong to the net and is always looking to score. "I am hoping that we are going to be more of an attacking team," said DiMaggio.

The Indians, who are in League IB for the first time this year, will have to beat out Brewster, Carmel, John Jay Cross River, Somers and Yorktown if they want to win the league crown.

According to DiMaggio, that will not be an easy task.

"This is a very tough league," she said. "There are no 'gimmes' in this one."

DiMaggio believes that the sky is the limit for this team if it continues to perform the way it did in the preseason.

"I think that if things continue to flow the way they have been flowing then we are going to continue to be on the rise," said DiMaggio commented.

The Indians will start their season Sept. 7 against North Salem in a tournament at Somers High School beginning at 4 p.m.