Although it is still early in the scholastic field hockey season, La Jolla High and The Bishop’s School are finding leaders on their respective rosters.
At La Jolla High, head coach Paula Conway likes what she sees from her strong returning senior class, which includes captain Jenna Harmeyer, Kelly Collins, Gabby Person, Lauren Robbins, Izzy Melvin and goalkeeper Katja Sarain. “Many of these players were key players on the team last year, when we notched 16 wins, a second place in the Western League and a fourth seed in the CIF tournament,” Conway stated. “We have a strong class moving up from our JV team as the programs continue to grow and get stronger.”
According to Conway, Harmeyer has blazing speed and lots of experience and Collins has great stick skills, a powerful hit and a great game sense. Meanwhile, Robbins is a great goal scorer, while Melvin is solid all-around player. Conway noted that Person is the team’s most versatile player and that Sarain has been the starting goalkeeper for three years.
At Bishop’s, head coach Gary Hendrickson has a fairly young team (one freshman, six sophomores, two juniors, and five seniors) but with more experience than teams in recent history (seven returning starters).
Recent wins over Hilltop (opener), 3-1, and Poway (Otay Tournament), 1-0, predict at least as strong a season this year as 2013, according to Hendrickson. The team finished 16-6 in 2013. “Junior Eileen Mahler, last year’s leading scorer, is looking strong,” Hendrickson said, “as are co-captains and midfielders senior Tori Tran and junior Caroline Edwards. Sophomore Emma Lewis and senior Adeline Shin control the backfield along with three-year starting goalie senior Nadine Bradbury. One player to watch is freshman Alison Herbst.”
In a recent win over Eastlake, Lily Keck scored a pair of goals, with Mahler adding the other strike.