by Emma Cromidas
The first annual North Attleboro field hockey alumni game was held on Saturday, October 8th at 12 PM at NAHS. The game raised money for two causes, the first being the American Cancer Society in honor of a 2002 North Attleboro High School graduate and field hockey player, who recently passed away due to cancer. The second cause was the upkeep of the North Attleboro High School memorial garden.
In the game, former North Attleboro field hockey players competed against current junior varsity and varsity field hockey players.
The match consisted of two 20-minute halves and ended in a 1-0 victory for the Alumni team. The winning goal was scored off the stick of defender Olivia Gedgaudas in the first half.
“I thought the game was really fun,” said junior midfielder Camille Pizarro. “Even though I didn’t know a lot of the alumni players, it was cool to think that I’ll be on the alumni team in a couple years.”
Commemorative shirts were sold for $10 and donations towards several organizations were accepted.
Seniors on the current North Attleboro Field Hockey team worked on the Vietnam Moving Wall memorial outside of the field before the game. A portion of the money raised from the event will be put towards the upkeep of the garden every year.
“I think it’s really important for us to make the memorial look really pretty. The quote on the stone says ‘All gave some, some gave all’ and that really speaks to me,” said senior captain Mary Kummer. “Before we started to beautify this area, I didn’t even know the memorial existed. It will be a good way to pay it forward in the years to come.”
In addition, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society in honor of former North Attleboro field hockey player, Kristen O’Leary, who recently died after a long hard-fought battle with cancer. Her brother attended the game to show his support and raise money for the charitable cause.
“We had already decided to host this game, but we were searching for a good cause to put the money towards. When I was reading the obituaries, I saw that she had sadly died and that she had a passion for field hockey and NAFH,” explained current varsity coach, Karen Folan. “I had just started coaching the year after she graduated so I didn’t know her personally, but many people tell me how inspiring she was.”
When the game was finished, water bottles and cupcakes were awarded to the players for their tremendous efforts on and off the field. The North Attleboro field hockey team is currently 3-5-4 and hopes to gain enough points in order to qualify for tournament.
The First Launch 