The Lady Tigers field hockey team—under new coaches Lizzie Swanton and Samantha Mann—doubled its number of wins from a season ago and took fourth place in the NCFHA East conference.
The team finished with an overall record of 4-13, going 4-6 in conference play. Notably, the team recorded two shutouts against Durham rivals Jordan High School, beating the Falcons 7-0 on September 20 and 4-0 on October 6.
The team also blanked Riverside High School, handing the Pirates a 6-0 defeat on September 27.
Freshman Carly Brice led the team in both goals (9) and points (18).
“I am looking forward to the team environment and hoping to get more wins next season,” Brice said. “I also am looking forward to the great opportunities throughout my high school and club team.”
Junior Claire Willoughby finished second on the team in total points (12) and goals (5) and believes the Tigers will continue to show improvement next season.
“I was really happy with how we performed this season and it feels good to have my hard work validated,” Willoughby said. “I am looking forward to seeing how the junior class this year will step up as seniors. It is a goal of ours to make it to the playoffs next year and I think we can do it with new leadership!”
Senior Karina Bautista recorded 124 saves in her final season as the team’s goalkeeper.
“Getting over 100 saves felt unreal because it’s a pretty high number and I never knew I had the capability of getting that many saves,” Bautista said. “At the start of the season, I started to doubt myself, but later on my team helped me realize the potential I have. My teammates were a huge part of the clean sheets because they hustled up and down the field so the other team couldn’t get the ball close to our side of the field.”
The Lady Tigers finished the season ranked 20th in the state of North Carolina, according to the website MaxPreps.
