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# Coyle looking to finish strong this season for Bishop Guertin field hockey
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/coyle-looking-to-finish-strong-this-season-for-bishop-guertin-field-hockey/
- Published: 2019-09-02T20:27:16.000Z
- Updated: 2019-09-02T20:27:16.000Z
- Description: Sarah Coyle is trying to make up for lost time. Having not picked up a field hockey stick until she was in eighth grade, the Bishop Guertin High School senior has thrown herself into the sport. That meant going to offseason camps and playing at the club level when not on the field for the Cardinals.
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bishop Guertin, Cardinals, field hockey, NH High School Sports Insider, Sarah Coyle, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

Sarah Coyle is trying to make up for lost time.

Having not picked up a field hockey stick until she was in eighth grade, the Bishop Guertin High School senior has thrown herself into the sport.

That meant going to offseason camps and playing at the club level when not on the field for the Cardinals. And when there was no organized events to go to, Coyle spent as much time as she could in her backyard, trying to improve in every aspect of the game.

"I made sure I went to practice," she said. "I played club field hockey. I was in the backyard every day because I wanted to learn how to reverse chip. Every day I was out there taking shots. I just had to stick with it. The skills would come with as much game play as I could get and I knew that. I just kept playing as much as I could."

Before taking up field hockey, Coyle played ice hockey. That's the sport her two older brothers, Zach and Dan, participated in and that's what she was familiar with playing.

But after repeated encouragement from friends, Coyle decide to give the new sport a chance.

"I played ice hockey growing up and all my friends played field hockey," she said. "They were like ‘Sarah, you need to try it, you’ll be good.’ I tried it and I fell in love with it. I just kept taking it more serious every year."

So serious that she has committed to continuing playing at the Division I level at Northeastern University.

"She got the field hockey bug and that took over," Bishop Guertin coach Steve Duprat said. "Her presence on the field settles everyone else down. It allows some of our other players to do things because defenses will focus on her. She makes a pass to someone who is left open because (the defense) is collapsing. She can do a lot with the ball."

Despite picking up the sport late, Coyle was good enough to make varsity as a freshman. But it was as a sophomore that she started to make a name for herself around the division and the state.

"Sophomore year I had to take the ball and people didn’t know who I was, so I was able to just go," Coyle said. "By last year, people knew who I was. I had just committed (to Northeastern), so my name was out there. People started to cover me more, so I knew if I had the ball, it meant I had to get rid of it fast. I was always an outlet. It did get very frustrating. As long as the team is scoring, that’s all I cared about."

This year, Duprat expects that his senior captain will draw even more attention, but he believes Coyle has put in the work to overcome what other teams will throw at the Cardinals.

"She definitely has proven that she can, and will, take that opportunity if there’s no one there," the coach said. "If there’s no good option, she’ll take the shot, and even creating a shot on net, it leads to rebounds. We have good players who can pick up those rebounds. Doing the little things that she can to get to that space to make opportunities happen."

The Cardinals open the season Wednesday at Manchester Memorial, a day Coyle has been looking forward to all offseason.

"You have to embrace everything you’re doing, because it might be the last time you do it," Coyle said. "Playing with all my best friends that I met freshman year, you realize you might not play with them again, so you’re really trying to live in the moment.

"I love the game. I came into it late, so I just want to play it longer. I’m excited to take my game to the next level and play with a lot of elite players."