(Photo by Ann Reilly) caption: NO-LOSE SITUATION: Members of the John Witherspoon Middle School field hockey team celebrate after they topped Timberlane 4-0 in the season finale. The victory culminated a 13-0-1 season for the JW squad. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Jordan Petrone, Jasmine Horan, Julia Snyder, Mariel Edowke, Trish Reilly, Maggie Lynch, Amy Hauer, Lucia Matteo, and Caitlin Costa with Katie Alden lying on the ground. In the back row, from left, are Taylor Nehlig, Charlotte Wert, Campbell McDonald, Julia DiTosto, Anna Marsh, Elisa Kostenbader, Alana Chmiel, Sarah Eisenach, Caleigh Dwyer, Caroline Forrey, and Janie Kim.

Displaying Potent Offense, Special Chemistry, John Witherspoon Field Hockey Goes 13-0-1

Bill Alden

It didn’t take Julia DiTosto long to figure out that the John Witherspoon Middle School field hockey team had the potential to do some special things this fall.

“Our offense was really good,” said DiTosto, an eighth grade striker for the squad. “I could tell in practice that we could score a lot of goals.”

The team’s practice sessions had a different feel with new head coach Kelly Riely at the helm.

“I love Mrs. Riely; she pushed us really hard,” said DiTosto. “The practices were really hard; we ran a half-hour every day.”

The John Witherspoon squad showed its skill and fitness level in its opener as it ran past Community Middle School.

“When we won our first game 5-0, that told me we could be really good,” recalled DiTosto.

The team turned out to be really, really good, never losing this fall as it posted a 13-0-1 mark.

In DiTosto’s view, a turning point in the undefeated season came in early October when John Witherspoon was pushed hard by the Melvin H. Kreps team.

“Kreps was good, they played hard and we realized that we had to play harder,” said DiTosto. “We ended up winning 3-1.”

The team’s togetherness helped it raise its level of play. “We all know each other on the field,” explained DiTosto. “We knew what we could do and where we would be on the field.”

DiTosto developed a special connection on the field with classmate Campbell McDonald.

“Campbell and I know each other so well,” said DiTosto, who scored nine goals on the season with McDonald tallying a team-high 10. “We have the same perspective on the game. We like to do the same things on the field and we know where we are going to be.”

Head coach Riely appreciated the leadership she got from DiTosto and McDonald along with their offensive production.

“I told the girls that I wanted them there everyday at 3:15 to do their running and stickwork drills and Campbell and Julia took a leadership role,” said Riely.

“We didn’t have captains but we didn’t need to; they organized the girls and the girls respected them. The girls were excited every day; hardly anyone ever missed a practice.”

Riely was excited by the team’s high-powered offense. In addition to the 19 goals scored by McDonald and DiTosto, Anna Marsh and Elisa Kostenbader scored eight apiece with Jasmine Horan chipping in seven.

“Julia and Campbell had a great relationship on the field; they could really read each other,” said Riely.

“Anna Marsh did well on the other side. Elisa Kostenbader didn’t want to be on the wing at first but after she scored her first goal, she was hooked. She was one of our most improved players. We moved Jasmine to midfield and that helped. Once we had a starting lineup, they all knew where they were going on the field. We had a rotation and they all embraced their role.”

The team’s defense was buoyed by the goalie rotation of Taylor Nehlig and Katie Alden (this reporter’s daughter).

“Taylor and Katie would make great stops in goal,” said Riely, whose team posted nine shutouts on the season.

“It didn’t matter who was in goal, the players were confident they would get the job done. The whole team had confidence in each other.”

The team showed their focus as they didn’t get overconfident despite posting several one-sided victories.

“They took it one game at a time,” said Riely. “At halftime, we usually had leads but I told them it didn’t matter; there is a second half and they have to keep playing. They continued to play hard; they didn’t get excited until the game was over. That was neat to see in a young group.”

Riely is excited by how her players’ hard work was rewarded this fall as she returned to the helm of the program after coaching the Princeton High freshman field hockey team the last two years.

“I want this to be a strong feeder program,” asserted Riely, who had a five-year stint coaching at JW before working with the PHS program. “I told the kids that they have to understand that this is a commitment for eight weeks and they need to make it a priority. We practiced rain or shine. When I started at JW, we had three practices a week and we weren’t as competitive. When we started practicing five days a week, we showed what we could do.”

In Riely’s view, it was the team’s chemistry that helped it be competitive against all comers this fall.

“They all came together; I have coached eight years and there can be cattiness about playing time,” said Riely.

“We didn’t have that; the focus was on the games and playing as a team. The girls not playing would be cheering for the others.”

The team drew plenty of cheers in its finale as a large crowd was on hand to see it culminate its undefeated campaign with a 4-0 win at Timberlane.

“Timberlane is a big rival for us,” said Riely. “They were so excited; it was here and this was the end. They played so well and it was a great, great win, especially to do it on their field.”

DiTosto, for her part, was relieved by the happy ending at Timberlane.

“We were all nervous; we all played really hard,” said DiTosto. “We had trouble scoring at first but once we started scoring, we got the momentum. We were so happy; we would have been crying if we lost.”

And by coming through in the finale, DiTosto and her teammates created one last memory in a fall they will long remember.

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