On Saturday, September 7, Fallston Field Hockey hosted three other schools including C. Milton Wright, Towson, and Dulaney High School for the first ever Alice Puckett Invitational tournament to kick off the season. This begins a new tradition for Fallston as this marks the first-ever field hockey play day hosted here in The Den.
The play day was named after Alice Puckett, one of Fallston’s most iconic coaches of all time and a member of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Puckett coached hockey here for 29 years, following that up with some years of coaching at her alma mater, John Carroll. Puckett finished her career with the Cougars boasting 20 regional championships and 11 state rings, along with a 366-89-19 record.
“When you think Fallston field hockey, you think Alice Puckett,” said current head field hockey coach, Ms. Jackie Cummings, who once served as an assistant under Puckett. “It just made sense” to name the tournament in her honor, Coach Cummings added.
The tournament consisted of 4 total games, 2 for each school, beginning with our very own Cougars facing off against the Towson Generals. The Cougs plays a tough game, but Towson ended up pulling away with a 4-1 win. The Cougars didn’t play again until C. Milton Wright finished their two games against Dulaney and Towson.
Then Fallston was back at it for the final match of the day, taking on Dulaney. Unfortunately, this game went much like the first and Fallston lost 4-1, but there is a lot more to come for this team and they were able to learn a lot about themselves and what they need to work on during the play day.
“We typically have a strong schedule every year because many teams don’t want to play us if they don’t have to. I’m okay with that, I’d rather work hard all season and be ready for the playoffs than to take it easy and be shocked in the playoffs,” Coach Cummings said.
Fallston dropped their first regular season game on Wednesday in a close one against rival Bel Air but are completely focused on their upcoming rematch against Dulaney tonight.
“We’re a young team, we only start 3-4 seniors. I have a freshman goalie who is doing great and really starting to get comfortable in goal, it’s all exciting,” Coach Cummings said about what she learned from Fallston’s early season matchups. “I learned a lot about our intensity, we didn’t give up when we were losing – they fought to the end.”
Cougar field hockey is known for its long-standing traditions that bring the coaches, players, and fans together in a spirit of positivity and support, and this tournament is set to become one of those many Fallston hockey traditions. “We have a rope that players tie ribbons to celebrate a good game and to honor everyone who showed up that day. Sometimes a player will get the rope because they’re the loudest on the sideline, sometimes they’ll get the rope because they left it all on the field, win or lose,” Coach Cummings added about the team’s traditions. “If you’ve ever gone to a field hockey game there are cheers on the field, cheers on the sideline, cheers at halftime, they even have their special locker room cheers.”
The Cougars have a long season left and there’s a lot of excitement around the upcoming games. “What makes it special is that field hockey is like a family. At the end of the day being part of something special at the high school is really exciting,” Coach Cummings concluded.
If you can make it to a field hockey game this season, show up! There are going to be a lot of good games, and the Cougars can’t wait to make a great run this regular season all the way to the playoffs.
