After over an hour of fighting for possession of the ball, South’s girls’ varsity field hockey team tied 0-0 against their opponents from Chelsea on the September 27 game.

Led by captains Natalie Coffey ’23 and Meredith Tiderington ’23, the team is regrouping after all but four members from the previous season graduated with the class of 2022. With so few veteran players, the team has been working to balance new skill sets and dynamics with its new members.

“It was definitely a big adjustment because we lost a large part of our starting lineup, and a lot of skill left, too,” Tiderington said. “But we’ve been learning to work with other teammates who weren’t on the team last year, and we’re adjusting and keeping a positive attitude.”

While some new varsity members have never been on a South field hockey team before, the majority of this season’s team has transferred from last season’s junior varsity team.

“It’s basically like relearning how to play field hockey because it’s a completely new group of people,” Coffey said. “We have to relearn how to communicate with each other. It hasn’t been as much of a winning season, (but) it’s been an insightful season.”

The situation has opened the team up to many more underclassmen who do not have experience on a varsity team. One of five sophomore players, Scout Webber ’25, began playing field hockey last season in junior varsity.

“The teams (varsity plays) are a lot different,” Webber said. “There are girls we’re playing who are committed to D1 schools, but I really like our team overall and we get along very well.”

Through this unique “season of learning,” Tiderington says that the team is making the most of the situation through continuous dedication and a positive attitude.

“(We) just keep coming back each day, working hard and continuing to work hard despite the scoreboard sometimes,” Tiderington said.