Germantown Academy opened its 2024 field hockey season with back-to-back home games last Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, the Patriots fell, 2-1, in an afternoon match against nearby rival Mount St. Joseph Academy.

On Thursday evening the Pats played in front of a larger crowd under the lights at GA's Carey Stadium, rolling past Cardinal O'Hara High School from the Philadelphia Catholic League's Southern Division by a score of 4-0.

The two sophomores on the varsity roster did all of the scoring; Cece Durkin had a hat trick with the first, second, and fourth goals, and the other marker came from Genevieve Gajan. Both talented 10th-graders were already on the varsity squad last fall as freshmen.

In 2023, GA placed fifth within the Inter-Ac League at 2-8, finishing the season with an overall record of 7-12 after a loss in the quarterfinal round of the Pa. Independent Schools tournament.

The Patriots are beginning their 2024 campaign under a new head coach, Diane Campbell, who played Division I field hockey at Sacred Heart University before returning to coach at her high school alma mater, Bishop McDevitt. She also has extensive CYO and club coaching experience.

Her assistant coaches are Germantown Academy administrator Sarah Mirabile (a former collegiate head coach) and faculty member Allison Flaherty.

Coach Campbell brought with her to GA her daughter Wynne, who is entering the ninth grade. Starting in goal for the Patriots, the younger Campbell recorded her first varsity shutout in Thursday night's game. A day earlier, she'd made over 30 saves in the loss to Mount St. Joe's.

Joining the freshman keeper in the starting line-up on Thursday were the four senior team captains, Maggie Burkholder, Anita Sinker, Sydney Wanner, and Anna Willard. Sinker will continue her career at Catholic University, and Wanner will play lacrosse at Georgetown.

The initial line-up against Cardinal O'Hara also included juniors Ava Fiumara, Skylar Saldutti, Giah Sharf, and Ashley Wang along with sophomores Durkin and Gajan.

Juniors Mia Curci, Sophia Legos, Jules Yahav, and Chloe Zhou round out the roster of full-time varsity players. The swing players moving between varsity and the JV are sophomores Caitlin Bullicki and Reese Dooley, and freshmen Alex Colucci, Meghan Faccio, and Lily Troudi.

Last Thursday evening, the score between GA and O'Hara still sat at 0-0 at the end of the first quarter, then Durkin tallied twice in the second period. Moving the ball well along the wings in their offensive transitions, the Patriots went up 3-0 with Gajan's goal in the second half before Durkin completed her hat trick to lock in the 4-0 final score.