As the season began in August, field hockey players focused mainly on on perfecting their own skills and improving their individual fitness.

This self-focus was natural because there was a wide range of talent on the team — from experienced seniors to sophomores who played JV for one year.

Over the course of the season, though, the group of 11 became tighter and learned to play more cohesively and rely on each other’s strengths.

“I think that we’ve all learned each other's skills and how to use them in a game,” junior left fullback Hannah Beine said. “We started to play more as a unit, and not as individuals.”

Their improved teamwork was obvious when they won their senior game 3-0 against Monta Vista on Oct. 23 and their last game against Lynbrook 2-0 on Oct. 26.

“We all wanted to play well for the seniors,” Beine said.

Sophomore forward Maria Wronka said the girls were mentally prepared and benefitted from coach Nanu Sidhu’s advice. She hopes that next year the team will stay fit and have the right mindset.

Despite the girls losing 3-0 to Presentation on Oct. 16, senior goalie Judy Yang viewed this loss as a sign of improvement, since the Falcons lost their first game against Presentation 7-0 on Sept. 13. She also said that she saw improvement from practice to practice and from game to game.

“We’ve gotten a lot better at basic skills like passing and trapping and we also mesh better as a team,” she said. “We’ve had a lot more bonding and gotten to know each other well, which translates to communication on the field.”

But the team’s cohesiveness on the field did not always lead to victories.

The team ended with an overall record of 3-10-4 and a league record of 3-7-4. Top players included Beine, and juniors Maddy Davis and Sarah Rieken. They did not make it to CCS.

Despite this, Yang predicts the team will do better next year, as many of the younger players have already played at the varsity level this season.

Although the team might have not performed up to the expectations they had for their final record, Yang still is thankful for the time she spent with her teammates during her final season.

“It’s a little disappointing that we didn’t do as well as we hoped, but it was a great year and I had a lot of fun with the girls,” she said.