Making the shift from one long-time coach to a brand new one can often present considerable challenges for a sports squad. But after dealing with some early bumps, the Londonderry High girls’ field hockey squad ended up doing a bunch of great things for new mentor Nichole Treadway last autumn.
Treadway’s talented troop finished its 2017 regular season at an impressive 9-5 and wound up making it all the way to the Division I title contest, finishing with a great 11-6 overall mark as the D-I runner-up. The Londonderry crew was bested by the defending D-I champions from Timberlane Regional of Plaistow by a 4-2 score in the title match.
“Teamwork and determining what everyone’s role was to succeed as a whole was a key for us,” said Treadway, who replaced Laura Federico as the Lady Lancer leader. “The beginning of the season was a challenge, with a new coach taking over, as it always is. We worked hard to build relationships and take what they knew as a program and blend it with some big changes that ultimately were a huge success for our team.”
Key returnees from that successful 2017 crew are seniors Hunter Langley (defender), Miranda Galan (midfielder), Lauren Mullen (forward), Alivia Proulx (forward), and Morgan Brutus (goalie), and juniors Courtney Shay (midfield/forward), Grace Chicko (middie), and Kait Bedell (defender).
Other varsity returnees who may play major roles include seniors Julia Fothergill and Megan Packard, junior Lauren Doherty, and sophomores Emily Cowette and Riley Walter.
Londonderry’s promising newcomers include a fine trio of sophomores in Jenna Madigan, Jenna Stowell, and Isabella Augusta.
In looking at a challenging Division I landscape for the 2018 campaign, coach Treadway honed in on several opposing squads which she expects to be packed with talent and fight this fall.
“Pinkerton and Winnacunnet will be strong. Windham is new to the division coming up from Division II, and they will be giving us all a run for our money,” said the coach.