When you look back on Sachem, Suffolk County and Long Island history in a couple of decades there are only a handful of field hockey programs you’ll think of as a true dynasty. Sachem East is one of them.
You have the Centereach teams of the 1980s that won three straight state titles. You have the Garden City clubs that have been dominant for decades in Class B. Ward Melville always puts up a good fight. And aside from Garden City, none of them have won 50 straight games, two state titles in three years, and three straight county and Long Island championships.
Here’s the kicker: Sachem East may lose some really important senior talent, especially Katie Trombetta, Katie Doherty and Kyle Larkin, and by no means are they replaceable, but they also bring back a ton of young talent. Talent that has experienced winning on a high level with great expectations. Girls like Taylor Giordano and Cara Trombetta are back. Role players, core players, depth players, many are back next season.
So while the dynasty may have been knocked down a peg by losing one game in the state tournament, it doesn’t mean they’re done by any means. They’re probably even more hungry now. Some of these girls are only experiencing defeat at the varsity level for the first time. That’s okay, it builds character.
This is not a piece about the loss this past weekend in the state championship. Although congratulations are in order to Shenendehowa for beating the best team in New York State. Rather, this is a piece to shed light on what these girls accomplished.
Sachem East finished 20-1 this season. The program has a mark of 63-2 over the last three years. Prior to Sunday’s loss, their previous loss was 746 days earlier on Oct. 24, 2011. Their record of 50 straight wins is a Suffolk County record, just 11 short of the Nassau record set by Garden City in 2007.
This program has put up two State Championship banners in the high school, more than any other program in Sachem East’s decade old, but still young history. The girls who have been a part of this program since before they started winning state crowns have all earned the right to say they were part a dynasty.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro