BHPRSD Field Hockey Teams Looking to Improve on '10 Seasons

Wins have been hard to come by for the three field hockey teams in the .

Last season, Triton, and totaled just a combined 12 wins.

In 2011, all three teams will look to improve on their records and make a run at the postseason in their respective groups.

For Triton, the team is building on a very young foundation. With a squad loaded with juniors, coach Cheris McNellis is looking to use the 2011 season to improve the team's skills as well as have them gain experience against some of the conference's toughest opponents.

“Last year, we won three games,” McNellis said. “I would like to see that at least doubled.”

Triton will be depending on two of its top players, senior captain Devin Ryan and Destiny Garey, to help lead this team. McNellis noted that both of them are not only solid players on the field, but have also developed great leadership abilities.

On the field, Triton will be playing a 4-4-3 formation to start the season. McNellis emphasized that the team will be focused on defense first and foremost this season.

“My first concern is defense and not let them score,” said McNellis. “I feel like once we get one (goal) and once we start generating and once we start capitalizing on opportunities, then we should get up to that.”

The Triton coaching staff seems very excited about sophomore attack Gina Ayusa, who should help generate some goals for the Mustangs this season.

Still, Triton will face some tough games against a conference full of elite programs like Eastern, Washington Township and Shawnee, which have large programs to develop their players from an early age— something that Triton lacks.

“They have a great feeder program,” McNellis said in reference to Shawnee. “Those kids start when they're in the single-digit of age. A lot of our girls come to high school with no experience or even hearing of field hockey."

Over at Timber Creek, the story is very much the same. The Chargers will be entering the season looking to improve on a two-win season in 2010 with a very young squad.

“We're trying to basically improve on our record from last year and work on working together as a team.,” said Timber Creek head coach Jackie Massara. “We have a lot of newcomers this year and we're just rebuilding, so we're trying to be competitive as much as we can.”

Massara noted the team, though young, has a number of solid midfielders and backs that will hopefully build the foundation for a strong team in 2011. Timber Creek will be starting out the year with a 4-2-3-1 formation, but that could change depending on how well it works in the first couple weeks of the season.

“We're going to try it out to start the season,” Massara said. “It's been working in the scrimmages so we'll see if we can have success.”

Like the Mustangs, Timber Creek will be playing teams with a lot more resources in terms of developing players. It doesn't discourage Massara, however. She welcomes the challenges that some of the top teams in the conference bring.

“It's better to start off playing tough teams because it gives yourself more competition,” Massara said. “The tougher teams you play, the better the chance that you'll be improving more.”

The Highland Tartans were the most successful of the three schools in the district last season, winning seven games. Highland, which plays in the Tri-County Conference, will not be playing the same powerhouses as the Chargers or Mustangs, but do similarly have a young team like those schools.

Highland's coaching staff did not respond to a request for an interview for this preview story by deadline.

The field hockey season officially kicks off on Thursday for all three teams in the school district. Triton will be on the road, traveling to Tabernacle to play Seneca at 4 p.m. Timber Creek will play its home opener, hosting Pennsauken at 3:45 p.m. Highland will also be at home, as they take on Tri-County Conference rival Delsea at 4 p.m.