Roberts Wesleyan Field Hockey looking to improve in year two

It was April of 2023 when Head Coach Marisa Kocher was hired as the first-ever coach for Roberts Wesleyan Field Hockey.

“So whirlwind of a year for sure. And yeah, happy to be in year two,” said head coach Marissa Kocher.

And by August of that same year, Roberts was in action, and the school’s first-ever field hockey team took its lumps.

“Now, we’re here and our coach told us, like every team that they played last year said, Hey, we see you guys and we recognize that you’re just not giving up. You’re not going to fight, stop fighting,” said freshman defender Mary Catherine Maloney.

The results were about what you’d expect, a 1-11 record with a -100 goal differential. However, a foundation was in place.

“She wanted us just to be ourselves and really step into something new and join the process with her and I just really love it here,” said sophomore goalkeeper Abby Henderson.

So with a full offseason to recruit, coach Kocher brought in nine freshmen to the program.

“She just really keeps up with you and really cares about you and who you are as a person rather than just as a player. And I thought that was really good to step into as a new program,” said freshman center midfielder Makena Tooley.

And although it’s a small sample size, the new look roster has been better. Through the first three games of last season, the Red Hawks were outscored 31-0. This season, that margin is 6-1 through three games.

“How to put them all together, kind of like a little, you know, puzzle or something. So I trusted her and that she was pulling the right pieces together. And she saw the bigger picture out of everybody,” said Maloney.

And it isn’t just the RWU community taking notice, other coaches and local schools are reaching out to to give their kudos to the wildly improved team.

“It’s harder to see it when you’re in it. And so those people have definitely been like the community that surrounded us and are pushing us to where we need to go and continue to celebrate us, too, because that’s that’s can be hard,” said Kocher.

Roberts Wesleyan Field Hockey still searching for their first win of the 2024 campaign.