The Lakeland Regional High School Field Hockey (LLFH) team has had a very impressive year. With a new coach on deck and a very supportive team, the team shined bright in its 2025 season.

LLFH players have agreed that getting used to a new coach’s style along with new players after losing seniors within the past year has been a challenge. Despite some of the obstacles that may have started off as disadvantages, the team showed their power and love for the game throughout the season.

In general, the biggest challenge was communication and overall team chemistry. Junior Madison Ceballos and her teammates have said that the team “spent more time bonding off the field and focusing on communication and trust” in order to progress. With team bonding during practice hours and even off of the field, the flow of the team was unstoppable. With trust and communication built between players, the game became a matter of working together rather than playing as separate individuals.

With a tough stretch of alternating wins and losses, the team kept pushing on in hopes of success. In response to the losing games, Coach Jillian Riche said, “I try to focus on the things that we are doing really well and are working for us in that moment making sure that they are recognizing it.”

Coach Riche said she motivates the girls to finish the game strong, and when worst comes to worst, she just wants the team to have fun and enjoy the sport.

After a tough game against the Pompton Lakes Field Hockey team, junior Peyton Territo was congratulated for reaching an achievement of 100 goalie saves on October 13, 2025. Territo has said that she “couldn’t have done it without [her] team and the people who supported [her].”

Since playing against Pompton Lakes, Territo and junior Madison Ceballos have come to the conclusion that it was their most memorable game of the season due to Territo’s success as a goalie. In agreement with Territo and Ceballos, junior Alexis Lynn has said that “even though we lost 2-1, we played well all game.”

Meanwhile, junior Laurie Botsolas said she cherished this game because she scored her first goal ever for the LLFH team. Outside of the Pompton Lakes game, freshman Aniela Buhowski has said that her most memorable game was the team’s “Northern Highlands game on September 18 because [she] played a new position and felt really good playing.”

The new coach, Coach Riche, is stepping in after a four-year collegiate field hockey career, and after playing for 14 years, she knew that she still wanted to be involved in the sport. Once she heard about a coaching position with LLFH, she immediately applied.

“Being a coach and being able to pass my knowledge and skills to the future generations was something that I always wanted to do,” Coach Riche said. She provides the players a chance to practice new skills and helps each player individually if necessary, while also allowing players to ask questions after she explains possible game scenarios.

Coach Riche’s most memorable game was the same as her athletes’ choice: the Pompton Lakes game.

“Even though we lost, it was still a wonderful, well-fought game,” Coach Riche said. “[The girls] applied everything we learned since the beginning of the season into this game and they really showed that they wanted it. This all taught me that what I am doing is beneficial and helpful to my goal of developing the youth in field hockey.”

When asked what their favorite part of field hockey was this season, there were many mixed answers. Freshman Emma Allison brought up the idea that the team is kind and supportive. Territo, Lynn, Botsolas, junior Nicole Amoruso, sophomore Samantha Lorie, junior Nataly Seda, and senior Cinthea Berkemeyer have all agreed with Allison’s response. Buhowski said that her favorite part of playing field hockey is getting the chance to be challenged to contribute in positions that she has not played in before. To add, Ceballos has said that “the adrenaline that comes with being on the excitement of every play” is what makes her love the game.

Not only is playing field hockey fun for the team as a whole, but there are many lessons that are learned from the sport. Allison has learned “to have patience on and off the field. [More specifically,] with yourself, your opponents, your team, and the refs.”

Botsolas said that the best thing she learned was “to never get frustrated when a game doesn’t go how it was expected to and to have trust in your teammates.”

Continuing with the idea of patience, Territo said that she has “learned that you need to be patient, and that everything will come to you when you need it to.”

Buhowski said that “to be able to do well in a game, you have to trust your team and play as a whole. Everyone has to work as a unit to succeed.” Lorie agreed with Buhowski saying that having “trust in yourself and others around you” is important.

Ceballos has learned that “not every game or practice goes perfectly, but you have to learn to bounce back, keep a positive attitude, and focus on improving.”

“An important lesson in field hockey is that teamwork beats talent,” said Amoruso. “You win by playing for each other and not just yourself.”

Overall, the LLFH season has shown as Botsolas said, “[that] no season is perfect. Even if a team wins every game, there are going to be bumps along the road.”

With uplifting feedback about the team and the new staff, the season was a huge success for the girls.