Time for younger sisters to lead the way for John Jay

Clockwise from above, McKenzie Ryder takes over in goal for John Jay. Helena Schembri is a senior captain for the Wolves. Callan Keeley returns to lead the offense after missing last season due to injury. Laney Daly is a three-year starter on defense and a captain for John Jay. (Jim MacLean Photos)

By JIM MACLEAN

The John Jay field hockey program has enjoyed a lot of success in the last decade with coach Debbi Walsh entering her 10th season at the helm for the Wolves.

And one key to the success of the program has been a family bond, two years ago there were eight sisters in the starting lineup. Now, the four older sisters have all graduated, and it’s time for the younger sisters to lead the way.

It is a tough act to follow as last year John Jay advanced to the semifinals and defeated perennial powerhouse Lakeland for the first time ever in school history. Four girls earned All-State honors last year, but now it’s a new season.

“I lost seven seniors, five starters and four All-State players straight down the middle of the field, so that’s a lot of strength to lose,” admitted Walsh. “But I feel really strong about our feeder program, we have a lot of four and three year players with a lot of experience. It’s great to have the younger sisters and you can see it across the board with new families coming in who are just as eager.”

The sister connection is a good place to start. Senior captain Laney Daly is a younger sister and a three-year starter on defense. Senior captain Helena Schembri is a returning starter at midfield and she is an older sister, with younger sister, Lorelei, on the varsity. Junior captain Callan Keeley is the younger sister of Kacey, an All-State player last fall. Callan was one of the leading scorers for John Jay as a freshman, but she missed her sophomore season due to injury. She has already committed to play field hockey in college at Lehigh.

“Callan missed all of last season with an injury recovering from surgery and we’re excited to have her back and she gives us something we didn’t have last year,” Walsh said of Keeley. “Laney is a three-year starter on defense, and Helena will be in the midfield. We have a lot of athletes and we just have to find the right place for them.”

Juniors Finja Degl and Caitlin Brennan are both returning starters and younger sisters of All-State players Jojo and Jane from last year.

And there are plenty of other returning veterans and talented newcomers ready to fill in all around the field for the Wolves.

In addition to Daly and Brennan, Kaitlyn Condon is another younger sister and a returning starter on defense. Degl will move back to defense from midfield, and Sarah Swiderski is another returning varsity player to help round out a solid defensive unit for the Wolves.

Junior McKenzie Ryder will take over as the starting goalie to anchor the defense.

Senior Logan Bueti is a four-year varsity player who will start at forward along with Keeley. Sophia Shaw is another varsity veteran at forward.

Walsh is counting on a core of newcomers to fill in the midfield and at forward. Sophomore Harper Christian will be a midfield. Sophomore Briar Cindrich and junior Anna Kringas will both be playing forward or midfield.

It all adds up to a talented and deep roster of athletes. Of course, it won’t be easy competing against teams like Lakeland, Rye, and Horace Greeley in Section 1 Class B, but the future is bright for this year and beyond according to Walsh, with a big turn out for the modified program and strong numbers in the Katonah-Bedford youth program started by Walsh five years ago.

“It’s all coming together for us, it’s exciting and we’re in a good place with the health of our program,” added Walsh. “We have 30 girls trying out for modified and we’ve never had that many. The seventh-grade class is on fire and it’s really exciting to see.”