A solid 2009 campaign put the Dexter School field hockey team on the map for 2010.
The team reached the semi-finals of tournament play last season and now some of the higher-level teams will come knocking for a chance to play Amy Cokinos' squad this fall.
Unfortunately for Cokinos, the 2010 roster is going to look a lot different this time around. Cokinos will have to cope with the loss of eight contributing seniors from last year's squad, and bumps and bruises are sure to follow.
Find out what's happening in Brooklinefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"We always expect to win, but it's going to be a tough going this year," said Cokinos, who has been in charge of the field hockey program for seven years. "It's going to be a young team … I'm not really sure what to expect."
Cokinos is expecting to have to play a number of eighth graders on the team, but there are a few returning players that will play mentor to the young squad.
Find out what's happening in Brooklinefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Senior Mollie McColgan, the team's captain for the second straight season, will return to fortify the defensive side of the field. Senior Nichole Danehy will look to put home goals in the front of the net, and the top point getter from last season, Sam Fallon, will be right alongside Danehy.
Emily McColgan—younger sister of Mollie—will float between midfield and forward to help bring some added depth to both of those positions.
Cokinos said she will rely heavily on those four players to provide a good example for the young team.
The field hockey team is a growing program at Dexter, and Cokinos said she expects some girls to come out for the team that have never stepped foot on the field hockey turf. Cokinos has been around for seven years and has seen this program go from a team that only played as a middle school team to a team that was so close to playing for a championship last season.
This year may be a little "rough" as the coach put it, but she has high hopes that her program is still heading in the right direction.
"I'm really kind of taking it as it comes because we have lost so many people," she said. "But my expectations are to win."
