STICKING Together
PHOTO BY CECI REYES
Peters Township Field Hockey is a hidden gem in the community, offering opportunities for girls in grades K-12.
BY NICOLE TAFE
Field hockey may not be the most common sport in Western Pennsylvania, but in Peters Township it has been steadily gaining momentum for nearly two decades. What began in 2006 with a group of lacrosse players eager to bring the sport to the PT High School level has grown into a full youth-tovarsity program producing championship-winning teams. That founding group of players proved that determination pays off when they captured the AA WPIAL title in 2009. Since then, the program has continued to flourish. Today, the Peters Township High School varsity squad is led by coaches Kelly Meenan and Courtney Ackelson, while the junior varsity is guided by Maddie Devine( PT grad and WPIAL champion), Melanie Kerins and goalie coach Taylor Paige. With 37 athletes currently on the roster, some also compete year-round in indoor leagues with the Pittsburgh Venom Field Hockey Club.
At the middle school level, Peters Township is one of only five districts in the area to offer a team. Nineteen players, coached by former PTHS head coach Amy Casciola and alum Adrianna Costanza, carry on the tradition. Casciola, who led the high school team to a WPIAL AAA championship in 2018, founded a youth program in 2011 when her own daughter was in fifth grade and is proud to see the fruits of her efforts as the program’ s roots continue to strengthen.
“ We wouldn’ t have a high school team without the youth team, and we wouldn’ t have a youth team without the high school team,” she says.“ They are dependent on one another.”
40 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | icmags. com