St. Joe field hockey squad should rank among the best in southern New Jersey

By Dan Russoman

St. Joseph High School field hockey coach John DeMarco doesn’t like to look too far ahead, but he surely enters this season with the goal of winning the South Jersey Group I championship.
Last season, the Wildcats lost in the finals to Glassboro by one goal on their home field, something that is in the back of the mind of every Wildcat.
“It certainly left a bad taste,” DeMarco said.
“But we focus on one thing at a time, one game at a time. We’ll concentrate on states when we get there,” he said.
And getting there may not be all that difficult for the Wildcats this season.
St. Joe returns one of the top teams in southern New Jersey, one augmented by the addition of two talented transfers.
“With the amount of experience we have coming back, I feel good. We only have three spots to fill [in the starting lineup] and we’ve had some impressive young players who look ready to fill in those spots,” DeMarco said.
Leading the way for St. Joe will be DeMarco’s daughter, Megan, a sophomore who was among the leading goal scorers in southern New Jersey a year ago.
Megan DeMarco suffered an injury during the summer, but should be ready to play in the season opener.
Teams that choose to focus on stopping DeMarco will have to deal with two other top scorers, Kerri Badessa and Kelly Froio, who give the Wildcats one of the top offensive teams in the area.
Senior captains Nicole Pagano and Kirsten Maser provide veteran leadership and tenacious defense for St. Joe.
“Nicole and Kiki have very high goals and they set the tone for us,” DeMarco said.
Also returning to the starting lineup is Sharon Grinceri, another strong player.
Adding to the lineup this fall are Alicia Falcone, a transfer from perennial power Eastern High School, and starting goal keeper Rachel Sayer, a transfer from Overbrook.
“They’ve stepped in and added two very good players to our team,” DeMarco said.
The first goal for the Wildcats is to win a conference championship. After that, they’ll concentrate on a South Jersey title.
“It’s going to be tough. We play Holy Spirit in our second game, and we’ve had trouble with them. So, we’ll get a good conference test early. As for the playoffs, there are some very good teams. Glassboro returns a lot this year, and they’ll be hard to beat,” DeMarco said.
To help prepare for the postseason, DeMarco scheduled some of the top teams in the region to augment St. Joe’s somewhat lighter conference opponents.
“We added some very good teams. Camden Catholic, Seneca, Moorestown, Holy Cross. People always talk about the weakness of our schedule, but they can’t say that this year,” he said.
“Playing that schedule will help us get ready for the playoffs. We’re looking forward to the challenge. It’s going to show them that winning [championships] doesn’t come easy. You have to work for it,” DeMarco said.
St. Joseph begins its season on September 15 against Bridgeton.