Chelsea Field Hockey had yet another good season to put under their belts, ending as state semifinalists with a record of 9-6-3. This year’s team was led by senior captains Lia Spink and Sarah Tillman. Being a team with only five seniors, this performance shows promise regarding the future of the program.

“I think the season went very well,” Tillman said. “This year we were a very young team with many starting underclassmen, specifically freshmen. We were able to make it far despite being a young team, making it so far that we made it to the semifinals.”

Having a very young team can make a season difficult across any sport, but playing varsity as an underclassman is an honor, especially playing as a starter. 

“It felt like a big step up from last year and it was a great experience,” Teresa Smith (‘25) said. “It was helpful to learn from my older teammates and learn to play with my younger teammates. If I had to choose, playing under the lights was my highlight.”

The team really values their chemistry and in order to keep their team bond strong they have specific rituals they do together as a team. 

“We have a lot of unique things going for us, but one thing is our pregame ritual,” Spink said. “We always group together after the first part of our warm up and say our goals for the game and what we know about the team. This is called ‘getting centered’ which has helped us prepare for the game and gets us focused.”

As the seniors’ time has come to an end, the team is left with hopes of future success and a host of traditions to carry on.

“I hope they keep the strong team spirit and close connection,” Tillman said. “It is something that everyone looks forward to and helps us work well together on the field.”