by DAN RUSSOMAN
ATHLETICS
When Hammonton High School ’ s field hockey team hosted rival St . Joseph Academy on October 19 and the two teams played to a 0-0 tie , it marked the latest chapter in the story of the sport ’ s growth and popularity in Hammonton .
Few towns in southern New Jersey can lay claim to as much field hockey success as Hammonton .
For decades , the teams at both Hammonton High School and St . Joseph High School ( now St . Joseph Academy ) have been perennial contenders for conference and sectional championships , setting a standard for excellence that today ’ s players and coaches strive to maintain .
No conversation about field hockey in Hammonton can begin without mentioning Dot Cartica , the longtime coach at St . Joseph . Cartica was a Hall of Fame athlete during her high school days at Hammonton , before starting the field hockey program at St . Joseph in 1971 and leading that school to 14 Cape Atlantic League titles .
“ I was a soccer player growing up , but when I came to St . Joe in ninth grade , she [ Cartica ] put a stick in my hands and told me I was playing field hockey ,” Doobie Morano , who played at St . Joe in the early 1980s , said .
“ She was hard on us , but she was a great teacher , coach and mentor to all her players . We became great friends and was such a wonderful role model for so many players ,” Morano said .
One of Cartica ’ s teammates while at St . Joseph was former Senior Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway , who in an interview with The Gazette earlier this year reflected on her former coach and what it meant for her to play field hockey .
“ She [ Cartica ] expected so much out of us and she taught us discipline , punctuality , the sheer glory of hard work , sportsmanship and being part of a team . In Hammonton we didn ’ t go to summer camp , we went to field hockey camp and I learned a great deal on that field hockey team that has helped me off the field for the last 35 years ,” Conway said .
Ann Donio , a standout at Hammonton High School in the early 1970s , helped grow the sport at that school and left as the program ’ s all-time leading scorer .
“ I played field hockey for Hammonton High School in the fall seasons of 1974-77 . I made some great lifelong friends and was very honored to hold the Hammonton High School field hockey career scoring record for a number of years . I was at the game when Meredith Howell broke the record in 2000 and Meredith was there at the game when my daughter , Jane , broke Meredith ’ s record in 2014 ,” Donio said .
Like Conway , the lessons learned on the field hockey team helped Donio go on to become a successful attorney and now a New Jersey District Court judge .
Many former players spoke of the game ’ s influence on their lives .
Howell led Hammonton in the late 1990s and recalled the tough decision she made as a freshman to join the Blue Devils .
“ I was in band and really enjoyed it . When I was a freshman , it was a difficult decision whether to stay with band or play field hockey . Choosing field hockey set in motion a course of events in college and afterwards ,” Howell said .
Howell also admitted that her parents may have played a role in her decision to opt for field hockey .
THE HAMMONTONIAN | OCTOBER 2022 | P . 11
Field hockey is one of the town ’ s top sports
JANE DONIO-ENSCOE BROKE RECORDS IN 2014 .
ST . JOSEPH PLAYER EMILY DEMARCO IN 2013 .
MEREDITH HOWELL IN THE LATE 1990S .
“ My eighth grade year , 1996 , Hammonton won the South Jersey championship and my parents brought me to all the games . I was on the sidelines when they lost to West Essex in the state finals . Masterful parenting ,” Howell said .
The connection between Donio and Howell continued when Jane Donio-Enscoe broke Howell ’ s scoring record in 2014 .
“ Breaking the goal scoring record my senior year is something I ’ ll always cherish , mainly because I remember how supportive my teammates and coaches were . We had so much fun that year , being in a new conference and going undefeated in the regular season ,” Donio-Enscoe said .
Melissa Perna Durham played for Hammonton and now is an assistant coach for the program .
“ As a freshman in high school , playing field hockey was the world to me . Growing up , I watched my cousin play ,
See FIELD HOCKEY , P . 12