Oakton Field Hockey Seeks Unity in Rebuilding Year

After graduating 12 talented seniors and losing their head coach, the Oakton High field hockey team looks to overcome a severe turnover and find unity before the first Concorde District matchup Sept. 14.

Six of last year's graduating class were named to the All-Concorde District first or second teams, with Adelle Clinton also selected to the first team All-Northern Region and as an All-Met honorable mention. The experienced lineup helped lead the Cougars to second place in the district.

With Second Team All-District players Amanda Amraen and co-captain Melissa Shebat returning with six other varsity players from last year, and the former varsity assistant coach Kaitlin Fleischmann stepping up to the head coaching role, the Cougars already have some continuity from last year.

"We lost a large amount of seniors who pulled a lot of the weight on the team, so we have a lot of shoes to fill but everyone's ready to step up," Shebat said.

As the Cougars work to gel on the field and off, the team is relying on their greatest strengths: good student leadership and strong forwards.

Seniors Shebat, Maggie Toye and Ciara Cooney have been named captains, all of whom Fleischmann believes have the strength of character to lead a young team.

"In the backfield, [goalkeeper] Ciara is absolutely our rock. She's so dependable. In the midfield, Maggie Toye is a game-changer. She brings a whole different dimension to us," Fleischmann said. "And lastly Melissa is such an on-the-field leader. Off the field, she's generally quiet, but on the field she'll talk to anybody. They work together really well to get our girls motivated."

The Cougars are bursting with talent in the forward position, and all three captains see that as a strength, as they are currently relying on a five-person forward line.

"I do think we have a very strong defensive line, too, though," said senior co-captain Maggie Toye, who is confident Cooney and the defensive line of seniors Amraen and Jenny Bailey and freshman Jenna Ollen will find balance sooner rather than later. "The whole team is very coachable and motivated. We have a freshman and two sophomores on the team, and they're really playing hard and pushing the juniors and seniors to step up their game and intensity."

Transitioning to a new head coach can be painful, but so far the girls and the coach are getting along just fine.

"We have a really young coaching staff this year, but I think it's going to help us because they know what's new and fresh and what we need to be doing. They definitely have set high expectations for us," Cooney said, with Toye adding she expects Fleischmann's intensity to translate onto the field as the season progresses.  

A 2007 graduate of Falls Church High, Fleischmann continued her field hockey career at Shenandoah University. She took an administrative assistant position along with the varsity assistant coaching position at Oakton High School after graduating in 2011, and was thrilled to take the varsity head coach position after Kate Ruch stepped down after last season.

"I've always wanted to coach," said Fleischmann, who first picked up a field hockey stick as a freshman in high school. "The day I stepped on the field, this sport has been a passion of mine. I just love having the opportunity to spread that passion to a younger, new group of girls."

The Cougars opened their season with a 1-0 win over Langley on Aug. 22, then went 2-2 in a tournament over the following weekend. They then defeated Marshall High on Wednesday, but fell to crosstown rival Madison the next day. 

The nearly even 4-3 record is not unexpected as the Cougars rebuild, but they do expect to "get better every day," Fleischmann said.

"Our entire motto for the season is to be stronger together. It's a really big deal to us to come together as a team," Cooney said. "I think our goals are to put together the strongest team we possibly can and really grow together. We know it's going to be a season where we really have to fight for everything, but we're ready to do that."

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