By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Last fall, the Holliston field hockey team managed a 5-12-1 regular season record, earning a 29 seed in the Division 3 State Tournament. The Panthers took out Hudson 6-0 in the play in round but then fell to Medfield 4-0 in the first round. Although Holliston graduated eight seniors from that squad they are working hard at improving as they move up into Division 2 this year.

At the time of this writing, the Panthers had already equaled last year’s win total securing a 5-6-3 record and a 23 seed in the State Tournament with three games still remaining in the regular season. 

“Coming into the season we were looking to make the tournament once again. Playing in a tough Tri-Valley League we were hoping that our power rankings would help us out, Holliston Coach Alyssa Healey said. “We are looking for more cohesiveness, while developing our young players for the future. This year, we will graduate another six seniors, so I have swung the freshman between the junior varsity and varsity programs so that we can keep things going next year.”

Senior Julia Galipeau, a three-year varsity player, is back between the pipes for the Panthers. According to Healey, Galipeau had never played field hockey prior to high school, and over the last two years, she has been a solid rock on the back line, where she has been named All League both seasons. The senior net keeper averages 12 or 13 saves a game and has only allowed 20 goals over the14 games thus far this season.

The Panthers have been lead this season by their tri-captains: seniors Isabella Olieviera (left-mid) and Sara Scheilling (forward) and junior Anna Barrett (right-mid). The three girls are strong players that have brought the team together with team bonding that started months before the season got underway. 

“In addition to doing what is needed on the field, they also do what is needed off the field to keep the team cohesive,” the coach said. “Each also brings a unique way of captaining. Izzy and Sara are vocal and work well together and Anna is a work by example player.”

Sophomore Olivia Ledoux, a Panther forward, is the team’s leading scorer on the season with 10 plus goals thus far. Ledoux has been playing on the varsity squad since she was a freshman, and the Coach noted that the sophomore has more than doubled the number of goals she had last year.

Senior twins Amelia and Abby Laingen bring a toughness and physicality to the team and will body up players whenever needed. Amelia is the leader on the defense while her sister Abby usually marks up the oppositions top player.

Healey has four freshmen gracing the varsity squad with two of them starters. The freshman forwards are Lilly Neitzel and Chloe Balejko, with the latter being the team’s second leading scorer at the time.

“Pretty much from day one I noticed a talent in Chloe; she plays offensive corner, defensive corner and carries the ball up the field,” Healy said. “Lily’s a left wing who has a couple of goals; she, too, can carry the ball up field, and she is a confident individual with her game.”

With a mere three games left in the season, Holliston is hoping that they can continue to be competitive and either hold steady or improve upon their seeding within the upcoming State Tournament.