On Monday, Aug. 28, two of the top high school field hockey teams in the area squared off in a preseason scrimmage, as Rye and Mamaroneck took to the turf at Nugent Stadium to prepare for the upcoming season. And while the final score may not have mattered, the play on the field demonstrated that the Garnets and Tigers are indeed ready for 2023.
Mamaroneck and Rye both come into the fall season with something to prove. The Tigers and Garnets both advanced to the Section I finals last year, with Mamaroneck losing an overtime thriller against Scarsdale and the Garnets dropping a 2-0 game to perennial power Lakeland.
Mamaroneck head coach Trish Miller said that squaring off against the Garnets in preseason is a benefit for both teams, as they are able to get a taste of top-flight competition before the season kicks off in earnest.
“For us, today was really about mental toughness, to see who can perform against a high-level team; Rye is really athletic, they have a lot of speed and they play all year so this is a good scrimmage for us to have,” said Miller. “It’s always a high intensity matchup.”
Although Mamaroneck’s defense was solid throughout—as is often the case with the notoriously stingy Tigers—that mental toughness was tested late in the game when Rye was able to push the pace and earn a quick score with just under 15 minutes remaining.
Undaunted, the Tigers pushed back and answered quickly with a goal of their own.
It is that type of mindset, said Miller, that the Tigers will need to show this year, especially after losing a number of talented seniors to graduation.
“That was a good sign,” she said. “I’ve always been a defensive-minded coach, but what’s important for us this year is figuring out who is going to score, who is going to step up into that role for us.”
The Garnets will have another stiff preseason test on Wednesday, after press time, when they tangle with Greenwich, before opening the season on Sept. 1 against Horace Greeley. Mamaroneck will kick off against John Jay on Friday before a much-anticipated showdown against Lakeland on Monday, Sept. 4.
“We start off against two strong teams, so right now, we’re just trying to find some chemistry; skills are skills at this point, but the mental toughness is going to be what is important,” said Miller. “Now I need to see us communicate and play well together.”
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