The Parkland High School field hockey team had one of its best seasons this decade in 2019, finishing with a 16-3-1 overall record and 14-2 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. The Trojans advanced to the East Penn Conference championship game, but fell to rival Emmaus 3-1 before bowing out in the District 11 quarterfinal round.

This season, Parkland will be under the tutelage of first-year head coach Julie Sikorsky, a Moravian College alum who spent the last three years as a Trojan assistant coach. She was also the head coach at Catasauqua High School for two seasons. Former head coach Lizzie Millen remains on the staff as an assistant.

The Trojans will also feature plenty of new faces on the field after graduating a large class of 10 seniors. Not only dealing with a somewhat inexperienced roster, Sikorsky has had to work around restrictions due to the pandemic.

“Throughout [COVID-19] we have been able to really bond and connect as a team,” said Sikorsky. “All age levels know each other really and that shows on the field. We have positive communication and movement with the ball. We have a large junior class who has really created a positive and strong foundation for our team. They lead by example on-and-off the field. Our team is able to utilize a wide variety of shooting and are eager to attack the goal cage.”

The top returnees from last season include senior Aubrey Semler and juniors Makayla Brunnabend, Logan Oswald and Tess Garchinsky. Garchinsky is the projected starter at goalie. Some newcomers expected to contribute include junior Emma Brayford and freshmen Aurora Gery, Darby Reyburn and Elaina Fragassi.

“Losing 10 seniors who played a large portion of the game is always difficult,” said Sikorsky. “We are going to need our players to step up and find the cage in order to replace the large number of goals the seniors contributed last year. One of the most difficult things this year has been the [COVID-19] restrictions. It has made our practices inconsistent, but our girls have taken it upon themselves to workout in their homes and continue to run on their own.”

With a new leader and almost an entirely new varsity roster, the goals for Parkland remain the same according to Sikorsky.

“One of our main goals this year is to remain healthy and take it one day at a time,” Sikorsky said. “All of our girls are dedicated to being successful in any number of games we may have. We hope to carry over the winning record to this season and win the games we get the opportunity to play.”

Once again the Emmaus will be a top contender in the league and district. Parkland will also play home-and-homes with Whitehall, Allen and Dieruff.

“Of course, it is always a goal to compete against Emmaus, get that upset and come home with the win,” said Sikorsky. “It is a unique year being that we get to play each team twice, once home and once away, and I believe that could be to each team’s advantage in terms of preparation for games.”