Morgan Field Hockey, who has gotten off to a great start, both on and off the field, which culminated in a huge upset over reigning Shoreline champs North Branford on September 19th, winning 1-0.
The Huskies have gotten off to their best start since the 2019-20 season, currently sitting at a 5-4 record.
The field hockey team has seen dramatic improvement in the last few years. In the 2023-24 season, the field hockey team went 1-15. In the 2024-25 season, the team did a little better, with a record of 4-11-1.
However, their great play didn’t just start when the season did. Players participated in team conditioning 2-3 times a week. Additionally, several players participated in an offseason field hockey summer league.
The summer league for Morgan Girls Field Hockey was a little different this year, considering many varsity players did not play in the league or were away on vacation. However, the team still fared well. Coach Krystina Johnson added, “Having an excellent, large group of talented freshmen” was one of the reasons why the team found success.
Senior captain Whittney Truebig on the topic of summer league and how they have improved since then, said “We won the majority of our games, and we played well together, but one big difference was our spacing and how we were talking on the field during summer league… we weren’t really doing any of that, but now it’s not a lot better”.
Senior forward Rayna Vanderwood attributed some of their early success to this preseason work, saying, “I think with all the pre-season stuff that we did, we definitely increased our stamina and definitely and just fitness as a team altogether.” According to Vanderwood, their success is not only due to their conditioning, but rather the strong bond the team has together, which Vanderwood explained as having close connections on and off the field.
However, it hasn’t all been good for the Huskies, as Field Hockey lost a few games at the beginning of the season, such as Haddam-Killingworth on September 5, losing 2-3. They started to improve, playing Valley Regional High School on September 9th, winning 2-0. This was followed by another win against Old Saybrook, 1-0.
Morgan then lost to Newtown, a Class L team, 0-4 on September 13th, and lost their next two games that followed – Waterford (1-2) and Wethersfield (1-2). The team then started to improve and turn things around, securing a huge win against North Branford.
Truebig added, “Everyone has improved, and we’ve been able to get involved. It feels a lot easier.”
Former shoreline champions, North Branford, faced a loss to Morgan in a 1-0 overtime match on Friday, September 19th. Morgan held North Branford 0-0 the entire game, finally scoring in overtime and securing the win.
North Branford this season is 3-2-2, as compared to other years, such as the 2024-25 season, where they went 12-1-2.
“Since the upset win in overtime, Morgan has turned their season around. We’ve been playing really well together as the season has gone on,” adds Truebig. On Monday, September 22, the field hockey team played home against Haddam Killingworth, winning 2-0. On Wednesday, September 24, the team played Stafford High School and won 1-0. Morgan Field Hockey played Valley Regional High School on Friday, September 26, and won 2-1.
Morgan girls’ Field Hockey plays Westbrook on Friday, October 3rd, which is predicted to be a good match, as North Branford and Westbrook are similar in skill level, tying twice this season 0-0 on September 4th and 1-1 on September 23rd.
Truebig is hopeful for the rest of the season, as they have already improved so much as a team. “We were all motivated to win and play well.”
