Bucs Celebrate Senior Day

By Kevin Eickman

On Tuesday, October 22, the Milford field hockey team celebrated Senior Day. In a game that Milford expected to win, the seniors showed up in force as they defeated visiting Caesar Rodney with a score of 8-1. With Milford having just two games remaining in the regular season, the win laid the groundwork for what Milford hopes to be a strong playoff run. The star of the contest was senior Bailey Masten, who would find the net three times during the game.

The victory for Milford would be the first of two for the week as the Bucs would travel to Polytech on Thursday, emerging with a 6-0 victory. With Milford jockeying for tournament season, Coach Andrea McPike is happy with how the team has been performing down the stretch

“We had a bit of a lapse in the middle of the season, but we worked our way out of it. We still have one more regular season game left (Monday) so it is important that we keep up the intensity and teamwork we have really developed over the past few weeks,” McPike said.

On a rare Sunday afternoon practice, we had a chance to catch up with some of the seniors to get their thoughts on their time at Milford. Co-Captain Hannah Zimmerman, a reigning All-State player who has had a fantastic season, expressed sadness that her career at Milford was coming to an end.

“Playing in my last regular season home game was a bit bittersweet. It was great to win but thinking that this might be my last home game made me a little sad,” Zimmerman said. “The one good thing I can take out of it, is that I think we are building something big here and I am just thrilled to have been a part of it.”

Senior Grace LoBiondo, who played for a while at Polytech, was glad that she came back to Milford for her final season.

“It was really great to see how far this team has come and I am really happy with how the whole team played. It wasn’t just about the seniors, it was about a total team effort,” LoBiondo said about the team’s success on the field on Senior Day.

Masten, another Co-Captain, obviously enjoyed senior day in recording a hat trick

“It was much more than scoring and winning. It was just so much fun to see everyone playing with such joy,” Masten stated. “You only get one senior day and it was very special for me.”

Speaking with midfielder Jordyn Casper, who is both a facilitator and quality defender, had a bit of a different take on senior day

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet that it was my last regular season game here,” Casper explained. “Time goes by so quickly, but I have had a great time here and I hope we can keep it going through the playoffs.”

Ashylyn Jordan plans to continue her soccer career and study kinesiology when she heads off to college in the fall. Concluding with McPike and her take on this year’s squad, she was quick to praise the players

“This is a group that I have been working with for a very long time, way before they got to high school. When you have players as committed as these, it really makes your job as a coach much easier,” McPike said. “What I really enjoyed the most is how much they cared about each other, how it has always been about the team and not about themselves. We still have work to do, so I would love to see how far we can go.”

There were no goodbyes on this night and the reason is quite simple. Milford made the State Tournament and depending on seeding to be announced this week, they could host one final game

“I would love to have one more game at home, but if we go on the road I believe in this team. I believe they are a group that is very special.” McPike said.