With the Norwin Field Hockey team at the tail-end of their season, the team currently has a 3-7 season record, with a win against Hempfield on Sept. 19, to keep the team moving forward. On that note, if the team wins against Hempfield on Tuesday Oct. 8, the team qualifies for the WPIAL playoffs.
“My goal honestly was just to have fun and improve from last year as well,” said captain and forward/midfield, Caitlin Edgerton (12). “Last year, we had no shot at WPIALs and now we’re on the path there for this season. At the start of the season, we weren’t connected. We weren’t having good passes to each other or having good communication, but now that we know each other we work better as a unit.”
As previously stated, the team’s playoff chances at WPIAL rests on their possible win against Hempfield in mid October.
“We improved so much this season and even more compared to last year,” said Edgerton. “We won against Upper St. Clair this year which we’ve never done before, “and we’ve been playing better against bigger schools too, especially places like Mt. Lebanon where we used to lose by a lot. We’re starting to close that gap.”
Edgerton is confident in the team’s ability to make it to WPIAL playoffs and believes the team’s hard work will indeed pay off toward the end of their season, and is impressed that what used to be one of their top competitors in USC and Mt. Lebanon is now struggling to beat them.
One of the most impressive facts about this vast improvement is that most of the girls on the team started playing while they were in high school, a large number not even starting until their sophomore or junior years. Those who have been around all four years have added another viewpoint to the conversation.
“They’ve definitely all grown skill-wise,” said Kiera Bolton, senior and 4-year player for Norwin, “and also with a much more positive mindset during the games.”
Bolton believes her teammates have made immense progress as a whole over time.
“Motivation is our hardest challenge right now,” said Edgerton. “A lot of us aren’t as happy as we were last year, because we aren’t actually having as much fun. We’re way more focused this year and it’s making it even more important to keep motivation.”
Pending admittance into the WPIALs, all the team and its fans can do is hope the Norwin Girls Field Hockey team keeps up this newfound competitive spirit and maintains that motivation.
