By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
LYNNFIELD — On Nov. 28, the Lynnfield High field hockey team had its awards banquet. Head coach Samantha Pindara gave out four awards that evening.
Maddie Mastrangelo took home two of them as she received the Scholar Athlete Award and the Heart and Hustle Award.
Mastrangelo was a senior captain who played defense.
The Most Improved Player Award went to senior forward Sofia Fiorentino while midfielder, Gia Marotta, took home the MVP Award.
Marotta, a junior, was a Cape Ann League All-Star this fall as she had two goals and eight assists.
This season, Lynnfield reached the MIAA Division 4 state tournament Round of 16 game before losing to host Hopedale, 2-1, in overtime as they ended the year at 12-8-2.
In the Cape Ann League, they came in fifth place going 7-5-2.
The Pioneers will lose 10 players to graduation. Along with Mastrangelo and Fiorentino they will also lose Adriana Buccilli, Hailey Mihalchik, Chloe Kustka, Alexa Petruccelli, Hannah Doyle, Maddie Sieve, Casey Flynn, and Melissa Caprio.
Caprio (midfielder) and Sieve (defenseman) were the other captains along with Mastrangelo.
They also lose two-year manager Sophie Bergeron.
“With 10 seniors, the team had a sense of maturity and poise, being able to stay composed in intense situations and be respectful of each other and the teams we faced,” said Pindara, who just finished her fourth year with the team. “At the same time, these seniors brought so much light and joy to practice. This team knew how to see the good in every situation and the appropriate time to make a joke. They started off their high school career during a pandemic, most of them missing tryouts all together because of it. This group is special and has battled through and have come a long way over their last four years. I’m very sad to see them go, they are quite a special group that I’m proud to have coached their entire four years. I have no doubt that they are going to be extremely successful at the next phase of their life and wherever they go I hope that place realizes how lucky they are to have them.”
The Pioneers are slated to return seven veterans next season, Marotta, Taylor Valiton, Lauren MacDonald, Lily Alves, Isabella Fiorentino, Cameron Munion and Lauren Matti.
Valiton was the team’s other CAL All-Star this season as she had a team-high 26 points with 16 goals and 10 assists.
MacDonald, who will be a senior next year, will be back in goal after winning 12 games this fall.
Marotta, Valiton and MacDonald will be the captains next year.
