Broadneck’s No. 1 field hockey team doesn’t engage in a lot of superstition. No lucky charms or complex pre-game rituals for the Bruins.
The only thing they do before a game is scream.
“It’s weird, but in our field house before the game, we just scream in a circle,” said senior forward Arden Hunteman with a laugh. “That’s how we get hyped up for each game. We’ll go in a circle, scream to each other one-by-one and then we all start to scream.”
Each player then hits the “Play Like A Bruin” sign over the door on the way to the field where they have overwhelmed every challenger with a combination of skill, speed, selflessness and synergy.
At 9-0, the Bruins have outscored the opposition, 59-6, winning by an average of 5.9 goals. MAX Field Hockey ranks them No. 25 in the nation and No. 4 in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
They defeated four Baltimore Banner/VSN Top 6 teams by a combined 20-4, including defending Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference champion and then-No. 1 Archbishop Spalding, 4-1, and defending Class 2A state champ and then-No. 4 Glenelg, 5-1. They’ve only trailed once, by a goal to Spalding.
“They play hockey as it’s meant to be played,” Spalding coach Leslee Brady said. “You can have that one player who can weave through traffic — they don’t rely on that at all. They rely on their teammates being in the position they’re supposed to be in, being in the right place at the right time and they hit them with passes, and defensively, I think they do a remarkable job.”
It’s not easy to get an entire team of skilled players with track-team speed to buy into the all-for-one concept, but that’s what the Bruins do best. Their small passing game often moves too fast for opponents to counter and sharing the wealth makes them even harder to defend.
Their marquee player, Maryland-bound midfielder Maya Everett, could easily take over a game, but, like her teammates, she would rather everyone get involved. She’s content to start something that someone else finishes.
“I really like how much confidence we have in each other,” Everett said. “We have a lot of trust in one another and that allowed us to build our team and be able to trust each other’s decisions as well, so being able to have fun on and off the field and trust each other on and off the field has created such a great environment.”
The Bruins started thinking about this season right after they fell to eventual Class 4A state champion Severna Park in the state quarterfinals last fall. They dominated that game, but the Falcons scored on a penalty stroke and won, 1-0.
The ultimate goal mostly goes unspoken, but it’s clear that this team aims for Broadneck’s first field hockey state title in 20 years.
“Our goal is always to go as far as we can,” said senior midfielder Jess Kopernick, “and given the talent we have on our team, we always know it’s a real possibility. Every game, we leave it all out there and our team chemistry this year is probably why we’re doing so well.”
With nine seniors, Hanratty looks to a core of four to lead their teammates — fourth-year varsity players Everett, Hunteman and midfielder Lexi Dupcak and three-year veteran Kopernick. All four started playing field hockey together as tweens with Broadneck Area Youth Sports (BAYS).
“They’re all trustworthy leaders and they push themselves,” Hanratty said. “They’re just driven kids. They love to have fun, but they work hard. They’re giving everything we ask of them and they’re selfless players. They lead by example. The rest of the players admire them and know that they are all about them and care about the team in their words and in their actions. It’s easy to follow people who lead that way.”
About a third of the Bruins have played BAYS field hockey together for years and that familiarity certainly helps.
“We’re all really comfortable with each other and we know that if we make a mistake, we won’t get mad at each other. We just know how everyone plays and how everyone leads so we can cater it to make us be successful,” said Dupcak, who led the Bruins lacrosse team to a state title last spring and will play lacrosse at Maryland.
The Bruins were well ahead of schedule even in preseason, said Hanratty, an All-State defender at Broadneck who went on to help Salisbury win the 2009 Division III national championship.
“They were doing exactly what we knew they were capable of,” she said. “I think we, as coaches, thought we would have to work it out of them, but we constantly have gotten goose bumps on the sidelines over the things that they do and it’s the basic stuff. We don’t do anything above and beyond special and every time we have a test, we think, ‘Is this going to be the time when somebody catches us?’ And then the girls perform and they keep playing to their potential which makes it so exciting.”
Fourteen Bruins have scored at least one goal and five have contributed 10 or more points. Maya Everett has 10 goals and three assists followed by sophomore forward Katelyn Kearns with seven goals and eight assists, sophomore midfielder Faith Everett with 10 goals and three assists, Dupcak with four goals and eight assists and Hunteman with nine goals and three assists.
Sisters Maya and Faith Everett and Dupcak are part of a midfield that is difficult to navigate. They, along with Kopernick, are offensive-minded middies while sophomore Chloe Page and junior Mady Quigley are more defensive-minded.
The back line is just as fast as the rest of the team, whose motto is “All gas, no brakes.” Junior Zoe Bjelac and seniors Safiya Stimely and Emily Ernst start in front of sophomore goalie Mia Moody. They have so much speed on defensive corners, especially with Page flying out of the cage, that opponents struggle to score on what should be their best opportunities.
Last week, No. 4 Crofton had 15 penalty corners and didn’t score off any of them in Broadneck’s 5-1 win.
“Their speed is what beat us,” Crofton coach Amy Skrickus said. “We have some girls who are fast, but every single person on that team was fast… We’ve seen some fast teams with one or two girls, but we haven’t seen that.”
As the season winds toward the playoffs, the Bruins have five more regular-season games, all against Anne Arundel County teams. They host defending Class 3A state champion Arundel Thursday night and archrival Severna Park Tuesday night.
“We just have to keep doing what we’re doing,” said Hunteman. “It’s worked for us as far as we’re going right now. We’ve just got to stay humble. It’s human nature, I get it, to think we’ve basically got this. It’s easy to say that, but that’s when trouble starts to happen. Then someone could sweep us right off our feet… I hope that never happens to this team.”
