White River Junction
She’s just happy to be playing field hockey again.
Wilcox is one of four Windsor athletes, including sophomores Grace Aldrich and Meranda Keough and freshman Angelina Bigwood, to join Springfield High’s field hockey program this season as the Yellowjackets enter their second year without enough athletes to support a team. The Cosmos were in Hartford on Thursday, suffering a 3-0 loss to the Hurricanes at Hartford High.
In fact, it was part of a recruitment effort by Springfield’s athletes to get Windsor’s players to come out and join.
“Actually the goalie, Aunna (Parker), messaged me and was like, ‘Hey, come out and play with the team. Come play for us,’ ” Wilcox said. “At first, I was like, ‘It’s Springfield. That’s a little weird.’ I don’t even think I’ve talked to anyone outside of sports. Just seeing them, it was weird. But they were really welcoming. They’re so welcoming. They still are.”
“It’s a lot of fun. It’s different. The style of play is different from my school,” she added. “And I do play a different position.”
Brooke Hurd, who transferred to Hartford from Windsor her sophomore year of high school, in large part because of the Hurricanes strong field hockey program, knows the feeling all too well. Hurd was involved in all three Hurricanes goals on Thursday, scoring twice and adding an assist on Kennedy Mullen’s tip-in.
Over the summer, Springfield co-coaches Lyndsie Perkins and Kelley DeAngelis were told they would be adopting field hockey athletes from Windsor, though they didn’t know how many. Joining a new group can always present challenges, particularly for coaches as they try to create a sense of unity in a small preseason window.
For Wilcox, who didn’t play field hockey last year after Windsor’s first appeal to transfer the Yellowjackets’ stranded athletes to the Cosmos fell through, getting back on the field was the most important thing.
“This is my senior year, so I said, ‘I might as well give it a shot.’ I’m really glad I did. I really am,” Wilcox said. “I missed it so much. It’s so amazing to play.”
Perkins and DeAngelis said cohesiveness was never an issue; alternatively, the more athletes the better. Springfield, like many high schools in Vermont, are still struggling to draw participants for field hockey. The Cosmos coaches said they have 21 listed thus far — not enough to create a junior varsity team, but enough to have a deep bench for the varsity squad.
When news came down that they’d be receiving outside help to fill some roster voids, Perkins and DeAngelis were thrilled.
“It can be tough,” Perkins said. “It takes a lot of courage for girls to come to a team where they don’t know anyone, a school they don’t know.”
Added DeAngelis: “They just assimilated with our team. It’s like we never skipped a beat. … We’re so lucky to have them. (Wilcox) her stick skills. She’s got great stick skills. Angelina too, she’s got great stick skills. And I like to see Meranda in the back there. She’ll attack the ball, which is something I always try to find in a defensive person.”
That showed on Thursday, as Wilcox’s speed was on display for the Cosmos (1-3). The problem, which Wilcox noted after the game, was whenever she got the ball, she seemed to be surrounded by Hartford players.
That is by design, as Hartford second-year coach Heath Haskell tries to take his team to the next level. Doubling or tripling up is nothing new for the Hurricanes; they’re used to seeing it over the past several years from other teams when they guarded offensive presence Megan Newton, who graduated last year.
It was the kind of departure that left many on Hartford’s team nervous and uneasy. She was on the top of every scouting report. What would the team look like without her?
The answer, it seems, has been found as the Hurricanes(4-0) have yet to be defeated, an improvement from the 1-3 start from a year ago. Haskell said part of Newton’s departure has allowed his team to disperse her responsibilities to a number of players, making for a more balanced team. Not knowing where the offensive production could come from, he said, makes Hartford more dangerous.
“I think everyone was nervous,” Haskell said. “But we talk about every day, we’re going to win or lose as a team. Brooke Hurd has one of the best shots in Vermont. When you have someone like that, other teams try to double or triple them, it frees up so many more options. It creates so much offense for us. … We’re playing really good hockey. I don’t think anyone can complain.”
It’s worked so far, despite a week of tests ahead: Otter Valley’s run-and-gun style on Saturday and a matchup against a retooled Woodstock team that Haskell knows cannot be overlooked.
It’s part of the game that Wilcox misses from Windsor; the rivalries, the strengths and weaknesses of opponents. The wheels are still turning for Windsor’s program to make a comeback; a Yellowjacket contingent attends many of Springfield’s games to keep up with Windsor athletes. For now, this will have to do.
Wilcox was asked what would be going through her mind if and when a Windsor field hockey team got back onto the field. She didn’t hesitate in her answer.
“I wish I was playing.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.