A summer went by of questioning whether the field hockey season would take place in the fall. But eventually decisions were made: the teams would have an abbreviated season starting after Labor Day, and masking was required during practices and games. All of this was coupled with DSHA’s decision to open in a hybrid model, where some girls only saw their teammates while in the field hockey uniform. 

 

Despite the move away from a traditional season, the team was thrilled to play—and be together. “Everyone had a really positive outlook on the season, and I think we were just really happy to be there spending time with one another,” captain Kaitlyn Mulcahy, DSHA ’21, said. “In the last couple of weeks of the season, we realized this would be our last chance to play together and really see each other this year, which I think motivated us to really try and create a united team going into the playoffs.”

 

The DSHA Varsity Field Hockey team went 10-1 in the regular season and 7-1 in their conference, earning the #1 seed in the state tournament. After a first-round bye, the team faced Arrowhead in the semi-final game, defeating them 4-0. On the October 17 state final, they beat University School of Milwaukee 3-2 for the two-peat, with captain Maddie Kellner, DSHA ’21, who will play field hockey next year at UC-Davis, sinking a penalty shot in the fourth quarter to put the Dashers ahead.

 

There was an air of confidence from the captains when speaking about their team. With 13 seniors on the team and 8 returning starters, there was a reason to feel good about the team’s capabilities. Captain Gracie Hecht, DSHA ’21, who will play field hockey at Columbia University in New York City next year, was encouraged from the beginning of the season that her team could get to the state championship again.

 

“We so badly wanted to win again, so we did whatever it took (in regard to following COVID-19 regulations),” she said. “We stood six feet apart while putting on our gear, and we stayed healthy. We were able to play out the whole season.”

 

Co-Head Coach and English Faculty Quinn Loucks said DSHA was the only program in the state to finish out its games, not only at the varsity level, but at all other levels.

 

The team could not have their traditional pasta parties and sleepovers, so team bonding—which was eased a bit because of the familiarity amongst most of the players on the varsity team—was more difficult than in past years, especially with a shorter season than usual. According to Hecht, communication was key in growing closer to one another.

 

“You had to incorporate support in communication as much as you could,” she said. “You keep talking to each other during every play. You keep vocalizing support to each other.”

 

Captain Ava Konopa, DSHA ’21, remembers being amazed by the seniors on varsity her freshman year. “They were really good; it was crazy,” she said. “But in a way, I was able to get to that level and play on a better team.”

 

Field hockey is a small sport in the state of Wisconsin; it’s more common on the east coast. Only five girls on the championship team played field hockey before coming to DSHA; the rest picked up a stick for the first time just a few short years ago and ended up becoming state champions—twice.

 

“The seniors who didn’t pick up a stick until freshman year are now key players on varsity,” Hecht said. “It’s possible to be a part of a winning team even if you didn’t play before high school.”

 

But that talent does not come without a commitment to the sport. “DSHA girls work hard in whatever they put their minds to,” Konopa said. “We learned and grew in field sense and stick work and made it happen.”

 

COVID-19 was not the only cause of difference this season. There was an expectation and an ounce of pressure put on the team to win the state championship again this year. According to Loucks, there was some thought around the field hockey community that DSHA won the state championship only because they got lucky last season.

 

“I think this year it was about showing that last year was not just a fluke,” said Mulcahy. “We were driven and wanted to show the other teams in the league what we were capable of.”

 

Hecht felt a difference in the state tournament this year, with the same desire to show others that they were the best team in the state.

“I had this adrenaline pumping through me during the whole championship game last year,” she said. “This time around, I felt in control and had a good feeling. I knew we were going to take home the trophy again.”

 

Whether or not the players on his team paid attention to what the others team thought, Loucks certainly didn’t. “I don’t believe that we got to the championship last season out of luck or bad calls here and there,” he said. “It was a journey where the girls came into their own and adjusted and worked hard.”

 

That hard work paid off this season, a season of validation for the players and the program. It wasn’t just a season of validation, though. It was a season of refuge and relief.

 

“There were times as we were coaching and the girls were playing, that the masks and the pandemic and the world faded away for a few minutes,” Loucks said. “In those moments, we were just playing hockey. That is really something special.”