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# Tomahawks work together to take the next step
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/tomahawks-work-together-to-take-the-next-step/
- Published: 2010-10-11T20:59:05.000Z
- Updated: 2010-10-11T20:59:05.000Z
- Description: It’s afternoon in early October and the Merrimack High School field hockey team is being serenaded before practice. As the Tomahawks stretch, one player starts to sing before she’s cut off prematurely, silenced by the laughter of her teammates. The laughter and conversation continue for a few minute
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division II, Fall Sports, Division I, field hockey, Merrimack, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/merrfh1007-merr3-2.jpg "MerrFH1007 Merr3-2")

It’s afternoon in early October and the Merrimack High School field hockey team is being serenaded before practice.

As the Tomahawks stretch, one player starts to sing before she’s cut off prematurely, silenced by the laughter of her teammates. The laughter and conversation continue for a few minutes, but then silence falls over everyone. Soon, the only sounds are words of encouragement for each other and the swoosh of shoes through grass.

The Tomahawks know when it’s time to get down to business and how to get the best out of each other. That’s what has made Merrimack – 8-4-0 in Division I as of Oct. 11 – so successful this season, according to coach Ann MacLean.

“The attitude is very good with this team,” she said. “They’re very positive and they have a lot of fun together. They get emotional. They don’t yell at each other, but they get intense, especially the seniors because they want it so badly.”

That ‘it’ would be a Division I championship, something that no Merrimack field hockey team has ever won. But this year’s group, led by a large senior class, has taken the program to the next level every year it’s been on the field, and some of them know what it’s like to get to the top, having helped the middle school to a share of the tri-county championship as eighth-graders.

A year ago, the Tomahawks hosted their first playoff game, and won in the postseason for the first time. This year’s goal starts with getting one of the top four seeds, which would bring a first-round bye into the quarterfinals.

“We’ve got to work harder now because we really want that playoff position,” Kara Jolly said. “We’re all better with our skills and we’ve gotten better working together. We’re such a tight group, everything just fits together. We work well together and everyone is so positive when we’re out there, which is great because then we’re not screaming at each other.”

The Tomahawks have stuck together off the field, too, taking part in fundraisers for diabetes and cancer research. The players also organize other group activities, like ice skating trips, and include members of the junior varsity as well, which is something MacLean is happy to see.

“We’re so close, we’re not just friends or a team; we’re family,” Lauren LeBlanc said. “We love being together and love playing field hockey together. It’s amazing.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/merrfh1007-merr22-5.jpg "MerrFH1007 Merr22-5")

“It’s a dynamic that our team has. We know we have skill and we know we can do it. We believe in ourselves. We also know the work that it takes to get there. Last year didn’t just happen; it took a lot of work. This year isn’t just happening. We work hard every day. Sometimes we laugh at practice. We know when it’s time to work and get stuff done, but we have fun along the way.”

The work paid off almost immediately for the Tomahawks, as they got off to a 3-1 start to the season that included a 2-1 win over Pinkerton. That game has stood at to the players, not only because it was the team that beat them in the playoffs last year, but because it showed them what they are capable of doing.

“It was a close game in the regular season last year and then we played them in the playoffs and they creamed us,” said Erin MacLean, the coach’s daughter. “They’re such a good team and to be able to say we beat them makes us proud. If we’re having a down game, we say find yourselves like we did in that game. We were just so aggressive in that game and we left our hearts on the field. That’s what we strive for each game.”

Merrimack dropped its next game, 1-0 to Salem, but then won four in a row, shutting out their opponents in all of them.

On the season, the Tomahawks have posted six shutouts, including a 1-0 win over Manchester Memorial last Thursday.

“I think they’re really realizing what they can do,” Ann MacLean said. “I think it’s tough at this age, actually believing you can do it. Going out here and actually beating some of these teams is really boosting their confidence up a lot.”

While the wins have been good for confidence, the losses have helped the players realize what they still need to work on and keep them from getting overconfident.

“It stinks to lose, but at the same time, it makes us see we’re not the best out there, we have to work every game,” Erin MacLean said. “We were in all the games we lost. It gives us something to work for. I don’t mind being the underdog.”

Merrimack may not be an underdog when the playoffs begin, but they will have the attention of the favorites, something that may not have happened in the past.

“There was a game last year where (the other team) came over before the game and asked when they win can they have the ball because it will be their 300th win,” Jolly said. “They beat us and they got the ball, but that’s what was running through our mind when we played them. Remember that 300th ball.”

The Tomahawks also remember the feeling they got from that playoff win a year ago.

“I think going so far last year made it feel real,” Kristen Correia said. “It made us know that it could happen. It’s a dream that we can reach.”

Merrimack finishes out the season with home games against Nashua North on Oct. 13 and Bishop Guertin on Oct. 15 before the Division I playoffs begin the following week.