Leaving ‘The Beach’ behind, and other things we learned at Greely field hockey practice
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Greely’s Evelyn Stewart, left, and Laura Largay chat with teammates during practice on Tuesday in Cumberland. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
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CUMBERLAND — It’s been the same story for the Greely field hockey team in recent years. The Rangers are looking to change it up — and they could have the pieces to do it.
At a Tuesday afternoon practice, the Rangers continued ramping up for what they hope will be a breakthrough season. For three years, Greely has been on the outside looking in when it comes to the Class B and Western Maine Conference picture, ending their seasons with first-round playoff losses.
This year, they believe they have the experience and motivation necessary to go further.
“It was frustrating and we had some regrets, and the goal is that we get those gone,” coach Burgess LePage said. “I think we feel like we have things to prove, but we’re not adding extra pressure onto that.”
GETTING OFFENSIVE
So what’s the key to cracking into the top teams in the WMC, which has been filled in recent years with Freeport, Yarmouth, York and Gray-New Gloucester?
The players said it’s not that complicated.
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“We’ve kind of been struggling the past few years just getting goals,” said senior Maya Tracey. “We have been doing really well with our defense, but we really need to get more goals.”
The good news? Scoring should be a strength this year. Greely only graduated three starters, all on defense. An offense anchored by Tracey and senior classmate Evelyn Stewart should be solid and among the conference’s best.
“We’re all better together, cohesively, than we have been in years past,” senior Helen Zimmerman. “I’m very confident in us.”
Stewart said continuity has helped this preseason, as there’s been less need to start from the basics with offensive drills.
“I think it’s awesome. … We’ve all been playing together since middle school, know how to play together,” she said. “The offense all know each other so well that we can introduce new players so much easier than other teams. I think it’s a huge advantage.”
AVOIDING DRAMA
Greely went 5-8-2 last year and was eliminated by Gray-New Gloucester for the second straight season, but the Rangers know their record could have been better.
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“Last year, we went into a lot of overtimes,” Tracey said. “So, really, (we need to) just flip those games from losing in overtime to winning those games.”
Those tight games rarely went the Rangers’ way. They lost to Gray-New Gloucester, Cape Elizabeth and Fryeburg Academy in overtime, and settled for ties against York and Lake Region. For a team looking to rise into position to host a tournament game, improvement in close games is a must.
LEAVING ‘THE BEACH’
An offense returning entirely intact isn’t the only reason for optimism. The Rangers have been able to practice regularly on their turf field, which was unveiled during the 2025 regular season.
Getting preseason work on the new surface, the players said, has made a big difference.
“We’re a lot faster,” Zimmerman said. “We did our whole summer sessions on there. … It’s a huge difference. I hate playing on grass. It’s awful, I can barely dribble the ball. The most important thing in field hockey is … keeping it on your stick so the defender can’t get it. As a forward, it’s really, really hard to do that on grass.”
Zimmerman said the players aren’t the only ones who could benefit from playing on turf.
“The passes are crisper, it’s just more fun, and it looks better,” she said. “People want to come to your games when it’s on the turf. No one really wanted to come when we were on, we call it ‘The Beach,’ because it was never green. It was always brown in some places. We get a lot more attention of people coming to our games this way, and it brings the energy up.”
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Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire. More by Drew Bonifant
