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# Windham field hockey looking forward to more schedule stability this season
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/windham-field-hockey-looking-forward-to-more-schedule-stability-this-season/
- Published: 2021-08-25T16:55:06.000Z
- Updated: 2021-08-25T16:55:06.000Z
- Description: WINDHAM - No matter what happened on the field, the Windham High School field hockey team went through last season waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Jaguars, along with every other fall sports program at the school, started the 2020 season late because of COVID-19 cases in the community. And e
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, field hockey, Jaguars, NH High School Sports Insider, slider, Windham, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

WINDHAM - No matter what happened on the field, the Windham High School field hockey team went through last season waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The Jaguars, along with every other fall sports program at the school, started the 2020 season late because of COVID-19 cases in the community. And every time they played a game, players and coaches wondered if it would be the last.

"We played every game as if it was our last because we truly didn’t know if it would be our last," senior captain Ava Milner said. "We didn’t know what game would be our last game, so we played every game for the seniors. As a whole team, we played like no game was guaranteed."

That mindset got Windham all the way to the championship game, where the Jaguars overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to beat Dover 4-3 and win the program's second Division I title in a row.

All of that adversity, both on and off the field, has the Jaguars believing that they're ready to go for a third-straight title in 2021.

"We did it last year, we faced every single challenge that was thrown at us," senior captain Amy Lanouette said. "The biggest challenge was the unpredictability of the entire year. I feel like it made us so much stronger, as a team, as individuals, and I think it benefited us having gone through a tough season."

What also has Windham aiming for another final is the return of young players who gained a lot of experience a season ago. The Jaguars lost just five seniors but had five freshmen on varsity, including Sophia Ponzini, who scored two goals in last year's championship game.

"They’re working really hard, they’re working together," Windham coach Katie Blair said. "They’re pushing each other. There are a lot of good, young standouts and the upperclassmen are doing their part."

And having the level of uncertainty that the pandemic brought a year ago seemingly in the past will help the Jaguars in a number of ways.

"It’s great that the girls can look at the calendar, they know what they have in front of them," Blair said. "They’re not wondering if we’re OK today. We know we’re set, where here, we can go.

"I think the biggest part was losing team bonding last year. That’s a huge part, the team dinners, stuff like that. That couldn’t happen. We came to practice and kept our distance and we'd go to games."

With the way the program is structured, not being able to get together as a team was a bigger detriment for Windham than it sounds.

"I think the team camaraderie stands out in my mind," Lanouette said. "It’s one thing that stands out between other programs is that our JV program, it’s just as close to the varsity as the varsity players are.

"That is truly the most important thing in being able to grow everyone at the same time. There’s no one group that is focused on more than the other. I think everyone being challenged by each other and being pushed by each other, off the field and on the field, it makes us so much stronger."

Blair also credits the individual dedication in the offseason as the why the program has been successful over the years.

"I think the biggest thing is they know they can’t start the first day of the season," the coach said. "They have to start in the summer and I think that helps us. Their sticks are in their hands. They’re together so they’re bonding.

"They’re like a unit by the time we get to preseason. They stay together, which helps us stay as one. The next class, the freshmen coming in, they want to be great. They want to live up to the upperclassmen’s expectations."

And this year, it's clear where the Jaguars will end up if they meet those expectations.