The seniors on Central Bucks West’s field hockey squad were instrumental in the team’s growth from winning just two games when they were freshmen to becoming SOL champions last fall. (Article sponsored by CB West field hockey)
By Mary Jane Souder
The 2023 field hockey season is in the rearview mirror, but the memories are not.
At least they’re not for a Central Bucks West squad that rolled to the SOL Colonial Division title and advanced to the District 1 3A semifinals. Which, by the way, is a far cry from three short years ago when this year’s seniors came on board at the same time as coach Dave DeAngelis and struggled to a 2-10 record in the COVID-shortened
season.
Lily Cosner, Mimi Duffy, and Nina Mayro – the three seniors who were thrust into varsity roles as freshmen – laugh when they look back on the early days.
“We were pretty blind - a new coach, didn’t know much about it, didn’t know any of the girls,” Cosner said. “The three of us only talked to each other. We only had each other.
“Once we got on the varsity, then we started to feel like – ‘Oh, this is what it is.’”
“That season wasn’t an accurate representation,” Mayro said. “In the beginning during the preseason when it was just us playing with the varsity team – since we were so young, I thought the team was so good. I thought we were insane and were going to be the best in the league and then we went into our first game.”
Fast forward to this past fall and West’s game at archrival Central Bucks East in the second go-round. Earlier in the season, the Bucks put an 8-0 beating on the Patriots and once again were in control but were on the receiving end of some trash talking from the East faithful.
‘Run her over.’ ‘She’s down, keep her down.’
Nothing especially noteworthy except for the fact that it underscored exactly how far the Bucks had come.
“Hearing the stands yelling at us – I felt like I was in All-American in a TV show,” Duffy said. “We were genuinely laughing about it.
“We were standing back (at midfield) on a corner, and I was looking at the stands and smiling because I was like, ‘Wow, we’re that good that they’re trying to trash-talk us.’ We were already up 4-0. It’s funny being able to laugh about it.”
This year’s senior class leaves the program a whole lot better than they found it, and Cosner, Duffy and Mayro were at the heart and soul of the team’s growth over the last three years.
“I remember as freshmen pulling them aside and saying – ‘To me, it doesn’t matter what grade you’re in. You either perform or you don’t,’” DeAngelis said. “We saw that they’ve got that raw ability and that you do not have to play like a freshman, meaning not your grade. You’re in ninth grade, but it doesn’t matter. You can be productive to the group.
“It’s not just on the pitch, it’s off the pitch where they’re doing things. Even though Mimi is going to college for track, I don’t know how many times in the summer you’d drive by, and you would see them on the pitch. Just working together. It’s genuine chemistry. They like each other.”
“They’re putting the work outside of West,” assistant coach Lori Ierubino said. “They’re not just showing up for the season, they’re doing a lot of hard work, and it’s paying off in our team. Mimi is running, the other two are playing in college, so it’s a passion of theirs.
“I had a freshman that came in (last year). There was no – we’re seniors, we’re juniors, and you’re freshmen. Their goal was to be good and to win and play hockey. It didn’t matter. They wanted the best team out there, and they were all equal when they stepped onto the playing field. I’ve been with teams where that is not the case, and that’s a problem.”
The freshman Ierubino is referring to is her daughter Aida, an impact player since she stepped onto the field as a freshman. The assistant coach goes on to recount an experience that underscores the welcome she received as a rookie.
“Aida was having a rough game, and Mimi went up to her without anyone asking her to and said, ‘Aida, come here.’ Just that leadership,” Ierubino said. “They’re athletes, they’re leaders, they’re role models, they’re passionate. Even off the field, you see their academic accolades. They’re superstars, they really are, and we had them as seniors and leaders on our team. We were so lucky. That’s culture.”
The growing years
West’s transformation didn’t happen overnight.
The Bucks’ 2-10 year was followed by an 8-10 season (6-10 SOL). When the regular season ended, they were the 25th seed in the District 1 3A rankings when only 24 teams advanced to the district tournament. The players returned the following year with the resolve that things would be different, and they were.
Last year, the Bucks were in the hunt for the SOL Colonial Division title until the final day of the season. After notching a 3-0 win over league-leading Souderton, they needed only a win over Neshaminy in their final regular season game to earn a share of the division crown. Instead, they were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie and finished a disappointing second to the Indians.
“I just remember standing on the grass field when (coach DeAngelis) told us we’re not co-champs because we tied in overtime,” said Mayro, who will continue her hockey career at Georgetown University. “I remember we were really angry.”
“Definitely, it was motivating because we were so focused on beating Souderton,” Cosner said. “I don’t think any of us knew that Neshaminy would count against us if we tied them. It was bittersweet.”
The Bucks used it as motivation heading into the postseason. They rolled to a 6-1 win over that same Neshaminy squad in the opening round of districts and then – in a playback game for a spot in states - sent Colonial Division champion Souderton home for the season with a 1-0 win.
They entered their final season this fall determined there would be no reruns. They shared a singular goal of winning the division championship and once again making noise in districts.
“We knew how we thought the SOL was ranked, and in our minds, we knew who were going to be the hardest teams to beat and who wasn’t going to be as hard,” Cosner said.
Mayro added, “I think we also went into this season knowing that because everyone kind of knew who we were now – none of these games were going to be easy. When I look back, we lost 5-1 to CB East (freshman year), and I think the last thing I ever thought was – give us three years, and we’ll win 8-0. If somebody told us that, I would have been like – no (way).”
But that’s exactly what happened. The Bucks entered the season as clear favorites to win the division title, and they did it in convincing fashion, scoring over 100 goals.
“We talked a lot about our offense,” Duffy said. “We scored so many goals this season, and the ratio of goals scored versus goals scored against us was so vastly different.
“We were building up since basically our freshman year and then some with the coaching staff obviously helping us with that.”
DeAngelis points to Ierubino – whose resume includes an All-American career at the University of Virginia and a stint on the U.S. National team - joining the coaching staff
two years ago as significant.
“A very important piece of the change has been Lori – she really is,” the Bucks’ coach said. “When you combine all that Lori knows – we were trying to implement a culture change because of what West had been going through. That was something that was missing.
“Again, it was all about the team, all about supporting each other through good, bad, and indifferent. To me, one of the biggest things was getting the culture, the right balance of coaches. We do things very harmoniously. That is then reflected – they see it, they get it, they understand it that we support each other.”
Nine seniors were an integral part of this fall’s successful squad.
“In addition to Lily, Mimi, and Nina, we had an exceptional group of senior student-athletes - Kiersten and Sienna Boos, Lucy Damsker, Ella Dougherty, Alyssa Irvin, and Lauren Quinn,” DeAngelis said. “They were the perfect teammates for this squad. They did all the things – they led by example to underclassmen, they battled as hard as they could when we were scrimmaging. Their contributions and value were priceless both on and off the pitch.”
A new culture
From last place to first place in the standings, the seniors experienced it all.
“I think that took some getting used to for some of them – having no pressure to actually being the team that people are gunning for,” Ierubino said. “I think there was a little bit of a transition, especially for those girls that have been through the program.
“I also think it speaks to their heart and their love of the game and their school that they stuck with it, and they were pivotal in making that change happen.”
Cosner, who will continue her hockey career at the University of Delaware, acknowledged that they weren’t necessarily difference-makers when they came on board as freshmen.
“Obviously, Nina, Mimi and I were on the team when we were freshmen, but we didn’t make that big of a change to what the outcome was that season,” she said. “But I think our senior year – everything was different.
“At practice, we realized it was time to practice, not time to play. We still had the most fun with each other, but we also did extra sessions. If we needed to work on stuff, we did. Two-a-days during preseason. We came early for corners and stuff like that.”
There was also the unspoken focus on building each other up and supporting each other.
“Literally, the field hockey community, no matter who it was - no matter if I was a freshman talking to the seniors versus now being a senior and talking to the freshmen, everybody is so close, and we’re all working toward common goals,” Duffy said. “We all love the sport, no matter what level we’re on. It’s just the love of the sport – it never leaves you.”
Mayro added, “My biggest takeaway is knowing that our group truly made a change in the program. Coming into a program where the previous few years we were historically not very strong, there was really no – 'this year we’re going to be really good.' That happened from our hard work and setting a tone. Being on a team that was able to make that change is something I’ll remember, and that feeling is something not many people have.”
And when it comes to memories, they’ve got enough to last a lifetime. From getting hyped before games in the locker room to the special games like Seniors Nights, Pink Outs to all the little and not-so-little things, they’ll remember it all.
They take special pride in the turnaround that took place during their time on the varsity.
“We used to fear other teams and seeing it from the other perspective is such a cool thing,” Duffy said.
“That feeling of ‘Wow, we are one of those teams – we are one of the teams that everyone fears,’” Mayro said. “You can’t really appreciate it unless you’ve been the team fearing other teams.
“I think the best feeling was – I don’t know how to put this into words, and I don’t know when it happened, but it was moment I realized we were good.”
And from winning just two games to winning 19 as seniors, it was an incredible journey, a journey that ended in the opening round of states in a 2-1 loss to Parkland.
“The last minute of the game - it was on our defensive corner, and I was like, this is my last minute playing high school,” Mayro said. “When the game ended it was like my whole field hockey career flashed before my eyes. It was kind of surreal.
“We were all so close and genuinely friends. We all had so many inside jokes with each other. Honestly, it was the people that made it. It was such a fun time.
“During the game, it just felt like every other game” said Duffy, who will compete in track at Penn State University. “(On the bus) the underclassmen started this wave of emotion. They started crying and saying – ‘You’re not going to be here next year. What are we going to do without you?’ It kind of hit us – we’re never coming back.
“Everybody always says – it will flash before your eyes, it will go so quick, but I feel like that honestly did happen because after every season you’re like – 'dang, that was quick.' At the end of this one, looking at the clock tick down from 10 seconds and being on the field for the last time, it was heartbreaking, but it was also so fulfilling because you realized how hard you worked this entire four years and realize it was all worth it – all the teams…everything.”
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