The bleachers were packed with students Wednesday night to celebrate field hockey’s senior night.
Players that were not seniors prepared a great celebration, including cookies, posters, flowers and gift bags. Before the game, each senior was announced on the loudspeaker along with a short message about their time on the team and their future plans. The players then walked across the field with their parents to shake hands with their coaches as well as the principal, Dr. Ellen Reilly, and Director of Student Activities, Greg Miller.
“Walking out was just so fun and it was nice to have a big crowd come out to cheer us on and everyone was supporting everyone else,” senior field hockey player Audrey Loucks said.
Senior Melanie Lindsey expressed how great it was to not only be at her senior night with her family there to support her, but also be senior in general.
“It is really exciting [to be a senior],” Lindsey said. “I do feel like a senior. A lot of people get to senior year and still feel like they are a freshman or a sophomore, but I do feel like a senior and I am really enjoying being able to lead the team.”
The night was not only emotional for seniors, but also for non-seniors as they said goodbye to their teammates.
“It was really sentimental,” junior field hockey player Alden Wagner said. “These are the seniors I have played with since freshman year and seeing them in their senior year is really cool.”
Although the senior celebrations had smiles all around, the night soon went downhill.
The team started out strong with the first goal of the game by sophomore Ella Katherine in the first quarter, something which is rare for the field hockey team.
“The first goal was really nice because we did not score much this season, so it was nice to have a goal,” Loucks said.
The team put up a strong fight at first, pushing Wakefield out of their defensive area several times, but by half-time the game was tied.
Over the course of the second half, Wakefield scored two more goals. McLean could not even it up, and the game ended in a 3-1 loss for the home squad.
“It was a tough game. They are a good competitor, so we ended up running up and down the field a lot. I think we could have definitely done better,” Loucks said.
Despite this tough loss for the team, Loucks has high hopes for the future of the team.
“It is fun to see the incoming freshmen players and see how they progress,” Loucks said. “It’s [also] cool to see what their level is like now knowing they will be really good once senior year comes around.”
Wagner, like many of her teammates, was able to look past the score and celebrate the seniors in their last season.
“Watching all the seniors play was a proud moment for me. I just love watching them and I love them all so much,” Wagner said.
