As the final whistle blew on the field at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, our 2024 field hockey season came to a triumphant close. With a score of 1-0, we ran together–smiling, screaming, some crying, but all of us beaming with excitement to celebrate our newest accomplishment as the West Coast Conference Field Hockey Champions.
The momentous weekend began with an evening game against UC Berkeley, who was second place in the northern region. The 3-1 win–with goals from both Hanzallah Afridi and Katlyn Vickery scored–propelled us to the championship game the next morning. Meanwhile, Cal Poly SLO had defeated UC Santa Barbara, meaning we were to face them for the title, and almost as important, the champion t-shirts. The hours leading up to the championship game were eventful, to say the least. As it was the weekend after Week 10, there was a lot of cramming for finals in the motel accompanied by sweet treat runs and anticipation for the next day. But Sunday finally came around, and we were back on the field. The ref whistled, marking the start of four long quarters ahead. While the momentum was in our favor, the score remained 0-0 for the first three quarters. Finally, a goal by Hanzallah Afridi put us just ahead of Cal Poly and we had won the State Championship!
This season was one of immense effort which reflected in our record of 7-1-1. It was a season of many firsts: we secured first place in the southern region, leading us to playoffs for the first time in our program's history. With practice three times a week, we refined our skills and simultaneously built a community for each other that emphasized growth and team camaraderie. It also goes without saying that our coaches Liza Shevchenko and Hailey Cockrum have made the program improve exponentially. With each practice, they pushed us to grow as players individually and as a team, and for that we are so grateful.
As we reflect on this past season, we also have to acknowledge that these successes were not just the culmination of the effort from this season, but rather from years of dedication to build the program from past teammates and even our seniors on the team now. Their contributions have paved the way for us now and many years to come. Here's to more championships ahead!
