Monomoy Field Hockey Digs Deep In Semifinal Loss

MARLBOROUGH – As the Monomoy field hockey team stood side by side for pregame introductions before their Div. 4 state tournament semifinal match last Thursday, they surely had to be thinking about one of their own who was not there on the field with them.

Freshman Mia Zimmerman, a star player for the Sharks whose three goals in the quarterfinals powered No. 1 Monomoy to the next round, suffered appendicitis the morning of the semifinal against No. 5 Frontier. Her absence not only had field hockey implications, but, more significantly, the Sharks came into the game knowing that their teammate — and friend — was recovering from surgery. 

With that on their minds, Monomoy fell 3-1 to Frontier, ending their season and another deep tournament run. Despite the circumstances, the Sharks kept the game close the entire way. 

“We're always there for each other, and this was a tough game, but just unfortunate we didn't have it,” junior Kate Huse said.

The Sharks and Red Hawks faced off in cold, damp conditions at neutral-site Whitcomb Middle School in Marlborough. From the jump, Frontier established that the game would not be like the three previous for Monomoy, who to that point had not allowed a single goal in their tournament run. The Red Hawks earned the game’s first pair of penalty corners, and junior Addie Harrington opened the scoring with seconds left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Monomoy managed to possess the ball more, and the back line of the defense did well to slow the pace down. But again late in the period, Frontier took another penalty corner. Senior Macy DeMaio ripped a big hit, and Harrington cleaned up the rebound for her second goal to put Frontier ahead 2-0. Monomoy ended the half with no penalty corners. 

“We just weren't making the plays that we needed to,” head coach Kyle Cappallo said. “We weren't making the clean passes. We were losing the one-on-one battles. You have to outplay teams when you're getting to a quarterfinal. Anything can happen.”

Monomoy mounted much more pressure in the second half. In the efforts of players like seniors Tessa Grodzicki and Sam Clarke, it was clear that the Sharks were digging deep to get back into the match. At the start of the third quarter, Grodzicki dribbled all the way through and got the ball to Clarke right in front of Frontier’s net, where she scored to bring Monomoy within one.

The Sharks continued to attack. They started getting penalty corners and chances. They took shots. But the right look, the fortuitous bounce or break just never came. And Frontier, all the while, deployed a deft counterattack, seeming to quickly pull the ball after a Monomoy chance all the way to the other end of the field and threaten to score.

After Monomoy expended so much energy trying to find the equalizer, Frontier put away the game with a goal from junior Rowan Reilly at about the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter. 

“They showed up,” Cappallo said. “They played hard. They won. We've got to do a better job coming in for the big game and making the adjustments.” 

The match was a disappointing end for the Sharks, who sought to reach their third straight state tournament final. They had already achieved their fifth consecutive semifinal as they quested for the program’s first championship.

But the conditions were clearly stacked against them. Zimmerman was an elite performer this year for Monomoy, and Cappallo could utilize her confidently on offense and defense. At times, she made dribbling the field hockey ball look like an art form. For other players to find out with no notice that they’d have to step in and try to fill that production right before a semifinal game was simply an impossible position.

And again, more seriously, all of the Sharks had to play through the game having only learned a little earlier that Zimmerman had emergency surgery that day. That’s difficult.

“We're a family,” Huse said. “I mean, we're always going to have each other's backs and just to carry that with us and to keep doing our best.”

Monomoy will graduate Clarke, Grodzicki, Lauren (Langelier) Henderson and Jillian Dittrich. Those seniors, some of whom have played for the team since eighth grade, have only known seasons of state semifinals or better. That’s a streak the Sharks are sure to aim to continue next fall.