State College field hockey played a home game at Memorial Field against Newport on Saturday, Oct. 3. The team fought a hard game against Newport, junior varsity(JV) finishing with a 0-1 loss and varsity with a 4-3 win.

To kick off the game, JV played first. They were able to keep the ball out of the net for three quarters until Newport scored a goal at the very end. While it was a well-played game with strong defense and some good shots on goal, the team could not pull out a win.

After the JV game, varsity started to warm up for the senior night game. Senior night is an annual game that all State High sports teams have, celebrating the seniors on the team and the players throughout the athletic program. This year, there are eight seniors on the team: Rebecca Bonness, Bayla Furmanek, Johannah Lee, Lizzie Paterno, Isabella Parillo, Maddie Tambroni, Jena Zeiler, and Nicole Zeiler. Memorial Field was decorated with posters for the seniors, and the girls each received flowers. Another tradition the team has is making a tunnel with players’ sticks while seniors walk through, escorted by their families as an introduction about them is read aloud. 

“I thought it was super fun to see all of the banners and seeing everyone who was there to support us. It was just kind of bittersweet to see all of that and the realization that I was a senior kind of sunk in,” Parillo said. 

In the first quarter of the varsity game, Newport immediately brought their energy and was the first team to score. State College would not let that stop them, and Nicole Zeiler tipped a shot by Tambroni into the goal, boosting morale around the team. 

During the second quarter, the ball was constantly moving frantically to both sides of the field, as both teams were trying to get ahead and get more shots. The score stayed tied 1-1 until the third quarter when Newport scored on a penalty stroke. Paterno responded to this by scoring her first goal of the season, which brought the score tied at 2-2. 

State College faced adversity through many penalties that were called, but persisted and took the lead in the 3rd quarter when Olivia Miller tipped Bonness’ shot into the goal. Once again, Newport fought back and scored another goal in the 4th quarter, which once again tied the game. With high stakes and cheering fans, energy was buzzing throughout Memorial Field. Now more than ever was the time to win.

Bonness hit another ball and Lee knocked it into the goal, scoring the game-winner. However, the game wasn’t over yet, and the team had to keep fighting until the very end to keep Newport from scoring. The team finished 4-3 with a senior night win. 

“After experiencing the three senior nights before ours, I think it was just exciting to be a part of it and it was really rewarding to get a win against Newport that day,” said Lee, who is one of the 2020 field hockey captains. 

It was an exciting and tight game that kept players fighting until the very end. So far, three seniors have committed to continue their field hockey career: Bonness at American University, Furmanek at Babson College, and Tambroni at Penn State University. Altogether, the seniors of the team have each left a large impact on the program, and senior night reflected the team’s appreciation for them.