Since its opening in 2007, Bedford High School has had a field hockey team. 18 years later, the Girls’ Bedford Field Hockey Team has won its very first state championship! This victory is an amazing feat for this team, as no Bedford team has achieved it before. Coach Gaudreau and the players could not be prouder. Though they made it close last year, they sadly did not reach the finals; this year, the team locked in on their goal and didn’t let anything get in their way, with talented sophomore Mary Lenti scoring the winning goal.

The team this season comprised 13 seniors, 2 juniors, 3 sophomores, and 3 freshmen, plus 2 senior managers (players from the previous year who sadly suffered injuries that prevented them from playing this season but were still involved). This team of students not only pushed themselves and supported each other during the season, but before the season even started, the rising seniors trained and worked out together over their summer vacation. While practice required a lot of hard work, the girls made it fun, which is the key to enjoying the sport. Coach Gaudreau even told them to enjoy themselves because they won’t give it their best if they are miserable. Player Grace Wolf says, “Throughout the season we pushed each other in practice to be the best, we practiced like we played every day, and we came ready to work.”

While the coach had been working with these passionate seniors since their freshman year, some underclassmen students were playing for their first high school season. These students were strong and active players, with one freshman starting for every game. The starters never crumbled under the pressure, according to Coach Gaudreau; they just rose up and led their team into the game. Even though only eleven players took the field at a time, those eleven rotated constantly, playing in new positions, so everyone was playing and making an impact.

Coach Gaudreau has coached field hockey for 25 years at several schools, so she can confidently recognize how “special and wonderful” this team is, saying, “These girls are awesome, nothing other than field hockey, family, and laughter!” The girls also share their love for her, explaining how she always made sure their love for the game came first, that she was a mother figure for their family, a friend on and off the field, and overall created an atmosphere that allowed the girls to achieve what they did. Every one of her pregame speeches ended with the same mantra to encourage the girls, and it carried them through to the finish line: “Anticipate the passes. Play with your heart. And most of all, have fun.”

This team was always given an opportunity to better themselves, and they took it, with the slogan “better than yesterday” written across the backs of their jerseys. The team understood that slogan to be true as they committed to improving daily. At the beginning of each season, Coach Gaudreau gives each player a pair of (faux) pearl earrings as a symbol of who they are. Pearls are created over time with grit, determination, patience, and a little irritation. To be a Bedford Bulldog, you have to “compete selflessly, with class, always putting your best foot forward.” These players transformed over time, just as pearls do. Dogs are also part of packs, and this team had to be a pack and stick together through it all, becoming a family in the end. The girls missed field hockey once the season was over, with Mia Katane even saying, “Coach Gaudreau and every single one of the other girls on my team helped to get us to this point, and I could not have asked for a better family to win with.” Irene Tsai emphasizes, “I always knew my team would be there for me, no matter the outcome.”

The season ended with a total of one loss, one draw, and seventeen wins! The one loss was to Keene during the regular playing season, but the girls went on to beat them in the state finals on our home turf. Teagan O’Donnell expressed that the loss was “really hard, but I think it made our team super strong and made us realize that even with a loss on our record, we could come so far.” The focus of the team for each game was to play and be ready, and they accomplished this with flying colors. Eloise Montagano states that since the summer, the team had “talked about going to the championship all the time,” and they made it. Everyone on the team had the same goal: do their best they can. By the end, they proved that they were the best, and it couldn’t have happened to a better group.

Coach Gaurdreau summarized this celebration perfectly: “There will be more Bulldog field hockey players, there will be more wins and more losses, and hopefully more state championships, but this team is special because there will never be another first.”