Field hockey

Like many other teams at North, the girls’ field hockey faced some tough opponents this year but made it to the state quarterfinals after beating eighth seed Brighton 3-2 in overtime. They were knocked out of the playoffs by Detroit Country Day.

They finished 4-8-1 in division and 4-9-1 overall, ending ninth in the regular season and made the top eight teams in playoffs for the second straight year.

Senior Carmen Castronero credits some of her team’s success to their close relationships with one another.

“We would have team runs, go out out to eat and just hang out, ” Castronero said. “The team as a whole did great because we all really knew each other and we all became really good friends and it just felt right.”

Even head coach Shelby Stone acknowledges this as a reason for some of the success they had, but it was more of the work ethic they brought every day and their improvement game to game.

“The girls really had a passion for the sport, and so they would always come to practice asking questions and willing to learn, which definitely helped us improve,” Stone said. “We learned proper game play, and the girls started understanding the vital concepts behind the techniques. I think it is very important for them to understand why they’re doing certain things rather than just doing what they are told.”

As Stone looks to be a top-eight team again in playoffs next season, she wants her team to keep working on the less-developed part of their games.

“I think one thing we can improve on for next year is scoring. We struggled finishing this year a bit, and so I think improving our goal count is definitely something we can look to improve in the years ahead.”