This year’s Tournament of Champions was different than any Eastern Regional High School field hockey had experienced before.
The Vikings entered the tournament having won 17 consecutive Group IV state championships, 73 consecutive games and having gone unbeaten in 130 consecutive games.
However, this year, seeding for the Tournament of Champions in field hockey was done with power points. Because of this, Eastern was the №4 seed in the tournament and would have to win three games, instead of two as in years past, to win a fourth straight TOC title.
Despite the extra hurdle, Eastern prevailed. It defeated Shore Regional, 12–0, Warren Hills, 4–1, and Oak Knoll, 5–0, in a span of five days to win the 2015 Tournament of Champions. The Vikings have seven of the nine Tournament of Champions titles since it began for field hockey in 2006.
Head coach Danyle Heilig said being seeded fourth in the tournament despite being ranked №1 in the MaxFieldHockey.com national ranking was motivation for the Vikings.
“We knew that our power points were not great, but I don’t think we ever envisioned we’d be fourth and playing in a play-in game,” Heilig said. “The kids were really focused on making a statement. They couldn’t have played any better. We couldn’t have played any stronger.”
Having to play in a play-in game in the TOC was challenging in many ways. The way the schedule was constructed, Eastern had to play its Group IV championship game and the three Tournament of Champions games in a span of seven days, leaving the team with little time to recover. Heilig believes that final stretch was the toughest point of the season.
“Emotionally, to get up for four enormous games and to play an every other day schedule, that’s very challenging on your body and your mind, and to play that level of competition, four games in seven days,” Heilig said.
The Tournament of Champions was the culmination of a fifth consecutive undefeated season for Eastern. The Vikings last loss was in the 2010 Tournament of Champions final, 4–2, against Oak Knoll.
The five seniors on Eastern are the second straight class that completed its high school careers without losing a game. Watching the seniors come away with one more championship on Nov. 20 was a proud moment for Heilig. She said this year’s senior class stood out because of its dedication to the team and its work ethic.
“Everything that was ever done was driven by the program,” Heilig said. “They were a group that never thought of themselves as individuals, not for a second.”
Eastern entered the 2015 season without a key piece from the previous year. Austyn Cuneo, the all-time national high school career goal-scoring leader with 328 goals, graduated in June, meaning the Vikings would need to look for multiple players to pick up the slack.
Multiple players stepped up to the plate on offense. Senior Nikki Santore led the team with 69 goals and senior Madison Moran chipped in with 44.
“We had a lot of people contributing to scoring,” Heilig said. “I think it’s just a matter of them filling that need.”
Heilig said a number of underclassmen made large strides this season. She believes juniors Mackenzie Keegan, Alexis Pettisani and Ashley Thomas were three of the most improved players this season and will be key contributors in 2016.
“The three of them really emerged and had really strong seasons for us,” Heilig said. “They were always good hockey players and earned their starting positions.”
The 2016 season could be a historic one for Eastern. The team will enter the season 21 games away from breaking its own national record for longest unbeaten streak. Eastern set the current record of 153 games from 1999 to 2005.
However, Heilig reiterated her team isn’t focused on streaks or milestones. Eastern is going to treat next season just like every other and focus on winning another conference, sectional, state and TOC title.
“Our role is to not really focused on (streaks) and to remain focus on the task at hand,” Heilig said. “We can’t control the past, and we can’t control the future.”
