Max Friedman '25
Nov 4, 2022
The field hockey season has come to a close, and the Blue Storm put up a good fight. They accumulated a total record of four wins and nine losses and finished fifth in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League, both improvements on last season’s results,. Some highlights include shutouts against local rival St. James School and M Cup rival Madeira School, as well as a double overtime, shootout victory against MAPL foe Peddie School on senior day.
Despite this season being head coach Grace Megaffin’s first at the school, she felt that the team had a “‘work hard, play hard’ mentality.” She said, “They are a cohesive team without divides between class years or positions. They were so fun to coach.”
Megaffin also spoke positively about the team’s leadersghip. “Our three captains, Hailey Chepren, Cam Dotson, and Liza Webb, led a team discussion at the start of the season to create goals and expectations for the team. We ended the season fifth in the MAPL, which was better than last year, and I think it shows how strong their leadership was this fall,” said Megaffin.
Megaffin noted standout performances by Vienna Horstmann ’23 and Zarreen Sorho ’23, two seniors who “were both thrown into roles on defense, midfield, and forward.” She said, “Their willingness to play positions they hadn't in the past was appreciated and admired by coaches and teammates.”
Megaffin noted another standout senior. “It's hard to watch a Mercersburg field hockey game and not be blown away by Zareena Sorho's goaltending. She was new to field hockey and the position of goalkeeper when she started her freshman year, but you'd think she's been playing her whole life.”
Zareena Sorho notched three shutouts on the season and credited this to the team’s composition. “We work together really well on the field. We have good chemistry off the field and we are just grinding away right now. It's awesome,” she said. Her favorite game was a close 2-1 loss to Foxcroft School. She said, “There was a lot of good hype and trash-talking emotions towards both teams and it was just really hype and exciting.”
Megaffin gave the full summary of the fairy-tale finish of the team’s intense victory over Peddie: “Cameron Dotson scored two goals, but Peddie responded with two in the fourth quarter. We had 13 players, it was a surprising 70 degrees, so they were exhausted by the end of the second overtime period. Hailey Chepren scored the game winning goal in a shootout and Zareena Sorho made the save to make the difference. It was an incredible display of heart and hustle from the senior class.”
Zareena Sorho also spoke about the win over Peddie, “It was a nailbiter for sure, but we came out with the win! It was the longest field hockey game ever, that's for sure.”
Overall, the season was a resounding success, an improvement over the year prior, and another proud chapter in the Blue Storm annals.