Essex High School’s Varsity Field Hockey team is currently a little over halfway through their season.

So far the team has played eleven games, with a record of seven wins, two ties, and three losses (7-3-2). The team will face two more opponents before the Vermont Principals Association releases the playoff bracket.                                                             

Senior captains, Zoe Papaseraphim and Lauren Angus, both agree that the most challenging games they’ve played so far have been against CVU and Rice. 

“I feel like [at] CVU we weren’t really playing as a team, whereas against Rice we played really well,” Angus said. “They [Rice] were just a better team.” 

The team won their recent game against South Burlington and many players said they felt that it was one of their strongest.

“I think that our past couple of games have really been a testament to how much we have improved,” Papaseraphim said.

The two captains are hoping to keep up this positive energy and hard work throughout the rest of the season and post-season to earn a bid to the playoffs. 

“Personally, the past two years I’ve been on varsity we haven’t won a playoff game,” Papaseraphim said. “So to get that win, or maybe a couple, would be really meaningful to me for my last year.” 

Head coach Barbara Isham said she agrees that the team is very strong this year, with good team chemistry. 

“I think that we have a good balance of seasoned athletes and new athletes that bring both expertise and fresh eagerness,” Isham said. 

Isham has been working on some new training methods and drills to help the team be more successful this year.

“I did some more research about physical fitness, and that’s when we started doing burpees, which I think has helped increase our physical fitness without having to do a lot more running,” Isham said.

With the end of the season nearing, the team has mixed emotions, and Isham in particular is sad to see the seniors go. 

“I’ve been with most of [the seniors] for four years, and it’s the end of my time, so I’m not looking forward to that,” Isham said.

On the other hand, the captains are really looking forward to playing their final games with the team and are appreciating their time as leaders. 

“Being a captain with Lauren has been amazing,” Papaseraphim said. “The team makes it really easy to lead, and it’s just a really great group of girls to be with every day after school.”