The varsity field hockey team begins its journey for a state title when it opens the tournament today against Somerville.

Somerville has been having trouble this season, making Hillsborough the favored team for the game. In past years, Hillsborough has pulled through in every game against Somerville, so today’s game should be a good match to attend for Raiders students, weather permitting.

Field hockey has been a solid program for the last few years at Hillsborough, and despite the complications due to COVID-19 the team still manages to power through their games and make it to state rounds.

Key senior players who have two years of varsity level experience, Melissa Tucker, Jenn Koval, and goalkeeper Niyati Ramanathan have been the backbone of the defensive line. Additionally, senior Heather Suraci with three years of varsity experience has been able to take charge of the offensive line. The team has played heavy competition such as Ridge, Bridgewater-Raritan, and North Hunterdon, however through a few lows they managed to win games against Montgomery, Watchung Hills, and Pingry to keep an overall record of 5-7-0 so far.

There were scheduling conflicts along the way due to Covid-19, including the lost opportunity to get revenge on Bridgewater-Raritan after the rival team had to be put in quarantine. However, most games did manage to get rescheduled allowing the team to carry out their season. 

“Overall this season has been really fun and the best it could be because of the team,” senior captain Juliet Dima said. “Although Covid-19 ruined some parts of it, we made the most of it. As a captain, I am really proud of my team this season and am really looking forward to state games.”

Regardless of the unpredictable Covid-19 impact and future challenges of states, Dima chooses to stay optimistic claiming she was “just happy to finish out the season” and “even with the pandemic, nothing was stopping us.”