New faces dot lineup for Penn-Trafford field hockey

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, September 11, 2017 | 11:00 PM

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Penn-Trafford field hockey coach Cindy Dutt has something she hasn't had in a number of years: a young team.

Coming off a season when the Warriors won a WPIAL title for the second time in the program's 14-year history, they return only three starters and five players with varsity experience.

Having so many new faces has led to some tinkering with the lineup to start the year. Last week, Penn-Trafford dropped its first two matches, 2-1 to Mt. Lebanon and 4-1 to North Allegheny.

“We're in a very different position than we were last year,” said Dutt, who is in her 11th year at Penn-Trafford. “It's weird because we haven't been in this situation in a while. We're trying different lineups and trying to figure out what's going to be best for the girls on the field. We're trying a couple of different formations to see what works best.

“I have 10 new girls that are new to me. They've played junior varsity, but I don't spend as much time with the JVs as I do with my varsity players. I'm still trying to assess their skill base and where they fit best in the schemes we run.”

The three returning starters — Jordan Bachman, Alayna Wagner and Emily Polakovsky — are seniors. They were voted captains by their teammates. Polakovsky scored the Warriors' goal against Mt. Lebanon, and Natalie Norman netted her first varsity goal against North Allegheny.

The other two returnees are Sydney Smith and Natalie Wilson. Smith, a senior, took charge of offseason conditioning sessions during the summer.

“I couldn't ask for a better group of girls,” Dutt said. “Field hockey is our happy place. We come here to play, and we enjoy it. There's so many other things going on in life, and we're out here because we love it.”

Penn-Trafford is a one of three Class AA teams in the WPIAL that play in Class AAA. The Warriors play in Section 1, and Oakland Catholic and Woodland Hills play in Section 2. This is the second season since the PIAA split field hockey into three classes.

Dutt took plenty of positives from the first two contests of the season. She was happy with the play with the goalie tandem of Sarah Letham and Samantha Doherty, who are only in their second season between the pipes. Dutt also was pleased with the team's ability to shore up their play after making a mistake. If they continue on their track of making positive steps, she expects wins to follow.

“We played a magnificent first half against Mt. Lebanon, and then we struggled in the second half,” Dutt said. “We were able to make a lot of corrections against North Allegheny. We've always played tough against North Allegheny, but they got the best of us. They took advantage of our younger defense, but it was back and forth. We had our chances.

“The score of 4-1 against North Allegheny didn't reflect how we played. I was very proud of the game we put on the field. I was proud of their first half and the effort in the second half to pull it together. They tried to make corrections, but they were just missing it. They get their pass off a bit too late or would go one step too far, but I'm very pleased with the way they were playing. I have some high hopes that we will get some wins under our belt in the upcoming games.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn-Trafford