A new season has brought new challenges.
The Queen’s Women’s Field Hockey team has currently played six games this season, sitting at a 2-4 record. They are coming off two weekend home losses including a 1-0 loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues on Sept. 25 and a 1-0 defeat to the Waterloo Warriors on Sept. 27.
The Journal caught up with Head Coach Rachelle Seguin after the team’s loss to the Toronto to learn more about field hockey at Queen’s.
Field hockey has been a sport at Queen’s for the last 70 years, with Seguin being the head coach for the last 14 seasons. Field hockey is a varsity club at Queen’s, meaning it’s partly funded by the university and partly funded via team fees paid by the athletes. However, the team also accepts funding from “longstanding alumni donors,” according to Seguin.
The team most commonly trains four days a week. During the practices, players will work on making plays under pressure as well as different offensive and defensive systems to implement during games.
“[During] our first practices of the week, we’re really working on skills under pressure. After that we are working on systems of play, different methods of attacking the opponent’s circle, and working on getting the ball out of our end,” Seguin said.
The team also has a newly incorporated weekly video session in hopes to better prepare for upcoming games.
Seguin believes her team is doing a much better job of incorporating the system they work on in practice into the actual games. She also believes her players’ “confidence [is] a lot higher” than it was earlier in the season.
Before this past weekend, the team sat with an even record of 2-2. They opened their season on the road with a loss to Waterloo on Sept. 11 before beating the Western Mustangs a day later on Sept. 12. They also split games the next weekend, losing to the Guelph Gryphons at home on Sept. 19 before beating the McMaster Marauders on the road on Sept. 20.
While Seguin is content with her team’s defensive performance, she would like to see her team be more consistent offensively, with the Gaels being shutout in four of the team’s six games so far.
“Our defense was stellar. They played a great game,” she said after the loss to Toronto. “But obviously today, we didn’t score, so that is something we would like to work on to make sure we’re getting a goal in every game.”
The head coach gave praise to their goalie Sarah Downes, ArtSci ’28, who has “really stepped up” this year for the Gaels after not getting a lot of playing time last year.
On defense, Seguin said the team relies on captain Abigail Milne, HealthSci ’29 to help prevent scoring chances.
For the midfield, Seguin has been impressed with Kate Martin, Sci ’27 and another one of the team’s captains, in helping keep the team’s defense superb.
“She really helped in defense and clearing the ball out of the [defensive zone], making some key plays to prevent some shots on net,” Seguin said on Martin’s game against Toronto.
Up front, the team looks towards forward duo Shaela Pinto, Sci ’28, and Sophia Buckland, Comm ’29, to help lead the Gaels offensively. The pair have scored all the team’s goals so far this season and are “extremely fit and cover a lot of ground on the pitch.” according to Seguin.
Queen’s Field Hockey will look to get back in the win column with two more home games this upcoming weekend. They will take on Western on Friday, Oct. 2 at 5 p.m. and then the York Lions two days later on Oct. 4 at 12 p.m. Both games will take place at Tindall Field.
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Field Hockey, women's field hockey
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