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THE LHS field hockey team kicks off their 2024 season today at Triton under new head coach Kerri Doherty, a 2001 LHS grad and three-time CAL All-Star who spent the last four seasons as head coach at Amesbury. (File Photo)
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
LYNNFIELD — A familiar face will be coaching the Lynnfield High filed hockey team this fall as LHS alumni, Kerri Doherty, is the Pioneers’ new head coach.
Doherty is replacing Samantha Pindara, who stepped down in June after four years at the helm.
Once Doherty found out about the opening she applied and got the job later on in June.
Doherty is coming over from Amesbury High where she was the head coach the past four years.
“It is truly an honor to be back,” stated Doherty, as the 41-year-old works at Edible Arrangements. “I really appreciate my job that allows me to adjust my schedule to coach.”
The Red Hawks qualified for the state tournament the last three seasons under her leadership as there was no tournament her first year due to the pandemic.
“It was bittersweet,” she admitted when she met with her Amesbury team to announce she was leaving.
She did meet with the Lynnfield captains, Lauren MacDonald, Gia Marotta and Taylor Valiton before fall camp opened on Aug. 19. Marotta, a midfielder, and Valiton, who plays forward, were Cape Ann League All-Stars last year.
Before she went to Amesbury, Doherty was an assistant coach at Lynnfield under longtime head coach Mamie Reardon where she helped out for three years.
Doherty was a star player for the Pioneers as she was the Cape Ann League Player for the Year back in her senior year as she graduated in 2001.
She was a three-time CAL All-Star in her stellar career.
Doherty also played basketball and did spring track at Lynnfield High where she competed in the pole vault.
She then went on to Boston College where she played field hockey for all four years and got her degree in education and development in 2005.
It was a busy preseason for the Pioneers as they had scrimmaged three days. They won at Masconomet, 4-2, on Aug. 23. Then, on the CAL Playday that Lynnfield hosted, they beat Hamilton-Wenham 5-0 and tied Ipswich 0-0 on Aug. 24 in a couple of mini-games. They then blanked Wakefield, 7-0, on Aug. 29 at home.
“I was just observing that first week,” said Doherty. “The girls have come into the pre-season prepared. The first week went great and we ended up having higher numbers that I thought we would have.”
She inherits a team that went 12-8-2 last fall as they lost to Hopedale, 2-1, in overtime in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament Round of 16.
In the CAL, they came in fifth place finishing 7-5-2.
Ten seniors from that squad graduated but the team has 11 veterans back including five starters.
Lynnfield will play 17 games this season with 14 league games. The three non-league opponents are Sutton, Chelmsford and North Andover.
The Pioneers visit Triton on Wednesday to open the year then visit Newburyport on Friday, also at 4 p.m.
The home opener is on Monday, Sept. 9 as they welcome Essex Tech at 4 p.m.