The field hockey program at Somerset Berkley Regional High School has a rich history, boasting of two players being chosen for Olympic teams, and has achieved remarkable success over the years. The program's success is underpinned by dedicated coaches, talented athletes, and a commitment to excellence.
Jen Crook: A Coaching Legend
Jen Crook has coached field hockey at the high school for 23 years with a record of 315 wins and 91 losses. Her teams have won 10 league championships. She is a member of USA Field Hockey. Notably, Somerset Berkley Regional High School's Jen Crook was honored as the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Field Hockey Coach of the Year last Thursday.
"I was very surprised, just because of all the controversy that went along with our team," Crook said of her reaction to winning the award. "I didn't think I would be considered for something like that."
Crook said she tried to keep the team focused on its goal of winning a state championship during the season and not listen to the "nonsense" that people were saying about the team. Crook has had her field hockey team participate in the annual Pinkout to raise money to fight breast cancer, in the BJ Voss Road Race that raises money for scholarships for students in memory of a Somerset police officer and in the Catholic Social Services gift wrapping for families in need. She also teaches religious education. Crook runs a field hockey camp for younger players during the summer for the Somerset Recreation Department.
Crook's sister, Lindsay Poirier, started the nomination process for Crook to receive the Coach of the Year Award. Letters of recommendation from SBRHS Athletic Director Joseph Francis, Assistant Principal Kim DoCouto and Crook's priest at St. Thomas More Church, Edmund Fitzgerald, were sent to the MIAA.
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"Good coaches are good teachers and Jen is excellent at teaching the sport of field hockey to her players," Francis said in a telephone interview with The Spectator. Francis said Crook teaches her players how to play field hockey the right way and how to practice and prepare the right way. He said she also teaches them how to work with teammates. "Without a doubt, they're incredibly well conditioned," Francis said.
Emma Schoonover, a player on the state championship team, said Crook encouraged the players to have high expectations of themselves. They set a goal of winning the state championship before last season. "And she helped us achieve that by pushing us and supporting us and motivating us," Schoonover said.
Schoonover said if a player was having a hard time executing a play, Crook would work with that player to figure it out. "She was just so dedicated to our team as a whole but also to each individual player," Schoonover said. Schoonover said the running the Lady Blue Raiders did may have seemed like a lot at the time, but she thinks it had an impact on them winning the state title. "We outran all the other teams that we played and I think that gave us a boost in the tournament to keep going," Schoonover said.
To be selected for a Coach of the Year Award in any of the high school sports, coaches must be an active varsity coach for at least five years in an MIAA sanctioned sport (nomination must be for either boys or girls - not both) at an MIAA member school and if selected cannot be nominated again.
The nominee must be recognized as having provided leadership for students on and off the field of play, shall have a demonstrated appreciation and high expectations for hard work and maximal effort and be effectively able to transfer this value to his/her student-athletes to help develop self-discipline, sound judgment and respect, shall have shown interest in the lives of student-athletes both on and off the field, personally working to encourage sound decision-making in both areas, shall have a strong appreciation for team success and strict adherence to the rules/regulations during competition, instilling this desire for excellence and commitment to fair play in his/her athletes and shall have contributed to his/her community at large, outside the realm of athletics.
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Key Coaching Philosophies
- Take one game at a time
- Focus on fundamentals
- Stress conditioning
Crook said a loss to Walpole during the regular season last fall was a learning experience that was used when the Lady Blue Raiders later beat the traditional powerhouse in the state tournament. "I don't like to lose, but sometimes a loss helps you to figure things out," Crook said.
Crook said her biggest coaching influence was Jackie Gladu Barto who was her coach when she played at Providence College. She said the PC team worked hard. Crook said she took a lot of what they did at PC and brought it to the high school. But she said it was too complex at first, so she decided to focus on the fundamentals of the game.
Crook, who has been a marathon runner, also stresses conditioning to her team. The players run a mile and a half to two miles before practice.
Triumph in the State Championship
Crook and her team won the first state championship in the history of the storied field hockey program at Somerset Berkley Regional High School. The state title is the culmination of a long road to the top for the Blue Raiders, who finished the season with a record of 22-1. They lost in the Div. 2 round of 16 in 2021 and 2022. Somerset-Berkley went to the state semifinals in 2023, losing to Norwood, before getting its revenge last season in the state finals. They would not be denied this year, winning five tournament games by the combined score of 28-1 with four shutouts mixed into their repeat championship performance.
Somerset-Berkley defeated Hingham 3-0 to win the Division 2 Field Hockey State Championship. All three of Somerset-Berkley's goals were scored in the third period. The state title is Somerset-Berkley's second consecutive championship. Somerset-Berkley broke open the game with a trio of third period goals in just under seven minutes Saturday to defeat Hingham High 3-0 for the Division 2 field hockey state championship at Burlington High.
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Just under two minutes into the third period Somerset-Berkley went on a run of goals to take control of the game. It started with a successful penalty shot by senior captain Adeline Finlaw and that goal seemed to open things up for the Blue Raiders. With 7:09 left in the period senior captain Ella Vaught tapped home a pass to her at the post and one minute later Somerset-Berkley added another insurance goal when junior Julie Pacheco dug the ball out from a scramble in front of the net for a goal to make it a 3-0 game.
Julie Pacheco and Meghan Costa quietly carried a personal vendetta into Saturday's Division 2 state championship field hockey game against No. 1 Hingham. Now 244 days later, it was Pacheco and Costa day to raise the trophy. SBR (22-1) captured its second back-to-back state championship in the program's history. The first one came in 2018-19. It's the fourth state title for longtime Raiders head coach Jen Crook, who hasn't lost in the finals.
"That was one of our focuses today was to score first and we've done that in all five tournament games," Crook said. "It took us a little longer today but whatever. We didn't really lose many from last year. Our kids know what it's like in a game like this and maybe it inspired them. I know the returners wanted to make it back here. I don't know what it feels like to lose in the state championship and I don't want to know."
One of the bright stars on the day was Raider sophomore goalie Mia Wiley, who kept the Harbormen (20-2-1) off the board in a scoreless first half. Junior Ryan Crook, who now ties his sister Cami and brother Lucas with two field hockey titles, said Wiley played her best game of the season.
Key Players in Somerset Berkley Field Hockey History
Here's a look at some of the most influential players who have donned the Somerset Berkley colors:
- Sue Marcellus: In her four seasons of SHS field hockey, Marcellus, a four-sport athlete (basketball, softball, track and field), scored 111 of her team’s 155 goals. And in her senior year alone, she outscored the opposition 37-2 over 14 games. During her career, the Raiders staged a 39-game conference win streak and claimed the conference crown all for years. Her 111 career-goals total established a national high school record.
- Lucas Crook: A center forward, Crook in his senior year racked up 55 goals and 33 assists as the Raiders went undefeated and untied and claimed their second straight Division 1 state championship. The leading scorer in school history, Crook finished his Raider career with 142 goals and 122 assists for 264 points. In 2018, he scored the state-championship-winning goal in overtime. The next fall, he scored twice in a 4-1 state final victory.
- Pam Bustin: A midfielder who put a huge emphasis on defense, she earned all-state honors and landed a athletics scholarship to Division 1 UMass Amherst, where she was named first team All-America. national team, starting with her senior year at UMass and continuing to the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta. She is a member of the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame.
- Terry Pacheco: Pacheco combined athleticism and skill to emerge as one of the very best high school players in the Bay State. As a sophomore, she set a school record wit 14 goals in a season. The next season, she obliterated that record, scoring 30 goals (11 assists). In Durfee’s last 11 regular-season games that season, the center-forward racked up 28 goals, an average of 2.5 per game.
- Alex Millar: In his senior year, Millar (he also played basketball and baseball) was the team’s third leading scorer, with 26 goals and 16 assists. He was especially effective on penalty corner plays. He could quickly settle a pass, load, and unleash his rocket shot.
- Camryn Crook: The midfielder was a four-year starter and two-time state champion. She finished her career with SBR on a 55-game win streak that included the state titles in 2018 and 2019 and, in her senior year, an 11-0 record in the COVID-shortened, 7-on-7, masked season. Her 124 goals ranks second all time at SBR while her assist total of 153 is No. 1.
- Karen Quinn: A center midfielder who took her defensive responsibilities very seriously, Quinn was also an amazing playmaker. Fast and fit, she could take the ball on the attack and get it to the forwards in proper position to create scoring opportunities, a skill not accurately reflected in point totals. After her senior season (16 assists, 5 goals), Quinn was named a state Division 1 All Star.
- Megan Salsinha: In her senior season (2018), Salsinha, from Westport, ran wild, scoring 58 goals and assisting on 24 others in helping lead the Raiders to the state Division 1 championship. Her offensive arsenal featured an amazing, powerful reverse stick hit/shot. Salsinha earned an athletics scholarship to play at Division 1 UMass Lowell.
- Andrea Roussel: One of the great seasons in Raider field hockey history was 2000, when then Somerset High School stormed all the way to the Eastern Massachusetts semifinals, posting a historic South Sectional final win over Walpole. Roussel, a junior defensive back, was a huge part of that magical run, but as a defender, she labored in obscurity except to those who know the game well. She continued to excel in her senior season. Roussel earned a scholarship to play at Division 1 Louisville.
- Jen Crook: A blazing fast forward, she was among the top scorers in the Southeastern Massachusetts Conference even though those Raider teams were not particularly strong. Recruited by UMass Amherst, Harvard, Providence College and Louisville, Crook chose PC where she was a major contributor for four years.
These players, along with many others, have contributed to the legacy of excellence that defines Somerset Berkley field hockey.
| Achievement | Year |
|---|---|
| First State Championship | [Year of First Championship] |
| Consecutive State Championships | 2018-2019 |
| Second Consecutive State Championship (Most Recent) | [Year of Second Consecutive Championship] |
| Undefeated Season (Lucas Crook's Senior Year) | [Year of Undefeated Season] |
The Somerset Berkley field hockey program continues to build on its storied past, fostering a culture of teamwork, dedication, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. With passionate coaches, talented athletes, and unwavering community support, the future looks bright for this championship-caliber program.