(Photos & Video by Mark Zimmaro, Donna Eckert, Lennie Malmgren & James Williamson)
BY MARK ZIMMARO
Dakota Poland is a quick learner.
The Conwell-Egan junior never picked up a field hockey stick prior to her first day of high school. Three years later she’s one of the key pieces to the revival of the Eagles’ program, which qualified for the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs for the first time since 2006.
“My teammate Emma (Buchko) convinced me to play my freshman year,” Poland said. “She’s (now) a senior but we were best friends in middle school. She said I should play. I tried it and I fell in love with it.”
And she excels at it.
Poland has scored some big goals this year that helped the Eagles produce a fantastic season that included a 5-3 regular season slate in the PCL. Poland snapped a 3-3 tie late in the game in a see-saw battle with Bonner-Prendergast last week, to give the Eagles a crucial 4-3 win.
Poland’s learning curve is a bit sharper than most, as she’s currently ranked third in the junior class at Conwell-Egan.
“It’s always been something important to me,” Poland said. “School, family, and sports, just not in that order. But I’m always dedicating a big chunk of my life towards school.”
The rest of her time goes towards extracurricular activities including the Peace of Mind Club, the Community Service Core, Art Club and National Honors Society. Poland’s biggest thrill comes from helping others in the Community Service Corps, which runs food drives to help local residents fight food insecurity.
CEC junior Dakota Poland is proud of where her team stands this season. (video/ Mark Zimmaro for PSD)
“It’s a big thing at Egan,” Poland said of the club. “We’re doing a peanut butter and jelly drive and a Thanksgiving food drive. We have a lot of events here that focus on community service. A big part of who I am is helping others, whether it’s on the field or doing volunteer work.”
“My parents always pushed me to help others,” Poland said. “I did a lot of work with my grandfather who passed away. I did a lot of stuff at his retirement building, making baskets and spending time with the older people and giving them someone to connect with.”
Her other connection, Buchko, led her to field hockey. Perhaps the only player smarter than Poland on the CEC roster, Buchko, the student government president, is ranked first in the senior class, and has led the ranking wire to wire.
“I’ve been ranked first all four years and I’m involved with a lot of the activities that go on here,” Buchko said with a laugh. “I live at Egan.”
Buchko, one of the field hockey captains, is involved with Spirit Night, robotics and plays lacrosse in the spring. She has plans of entering the field of biomedical engineering, working with prosthetics. Her senior year is jam-packed with activities and keeping an eye on the possibility of writing a certain speech in the spring if she remains on top of the rankings.
“I started stressing about it,” said Buchko, a Levittown resident. “Hopefully I get to keep stressing about it and get to draft that up."
CEC Senior Emma Buchko discusses the emotional rollercoaster in game vs. Bonner-Prendie. (Video/ Mark Zimmaro for PSD)
Conwell-Egan vs. Bonner-Prendergast in game on 10/15. (Photos/ Mark Zimmaro for PSD)
Poland and Buchko’s brains are not isolated incidents among the team. It’s well stocked with brain power that has helped the team win tight contests this fall. The Eagles defeated Lansdale Catholic in overtime earlier this year and pulled out the emotional win against Bonner-Prendie last week. They are games the team wouldn’t have won a few years ago.
“We have a lot of intelligent players on our team,” said Poland, who wants to study either Oceanography or marine biology. “We have a really smart team here.”
And they’ve come a long way.
In 2018, one season before Buchko arrived, the Eagles were 0-9 in PCL play. They’ve progressed into being a strong middle-tier opponent.
“In my freshman year, Bonner beat us (9-0),” Buchko said. “So, to come out my senior year and get a win over them feels great. The whole day we were super excited and locked in. We’ve come a long way in my four years here.”
Around the League
Just when Conwell-Egan looked to be cruising towards the No. 3 seed in the PCL playoffs, Archbishop Wood came along with other ideas. Wood began a busy week on Tuesday by defeating Conwell-Egan, 2-1, in overtime. Bella Swak was the overtime hero after Keely Waters got them there with a regulation goal.
The next day the Vikings kept it rolling with a 3-0 shutout over Archbishop Ryan, with goals provided by Angela Cavallaro, Brynn Trepper and Steph Froehlich.
On Thursday, the Vikings made it three-in-a-row with a 2-1 victory over Bonner & Prendie with both goals coming off Cavallaro’s stick. The Pandas had won the previous six meetings between the two teams.
Speaking of the Pandas, Bonner & Prendie finished in the top-three in the standings over the last handful of years.
Archbishop Wood in game vs. St. Hubert. (Photo/ Donna Eckert for PSD)
Bonner-Prendergast FH. (Photo/ Lennie Malmgren for PSD)
The Pandas ended up 3-5 this season in divisional play and clinched the final spot in the PCL playoffs.
“Every game, we’re getting better and building on the game before to try and get as far as we can,” said Pandas senior Krista Faso, who scored a late goal against Conwell-Egan. “I think we are really communicating well, playing together and turning on the intensity when we need to.”
Playoffs are Here
Cardinal O’Hara clinched the top seed with an unblemished record in the PCL, which includes not allowing a goal in division play. Archbishop Carrol takes the two-seed with a 7-1 record and just one goal allowed, off the stick of O’Hara’s Sofia Brown in overtime. The two teams will both receive a first-round bye.
Wood’s late push forced a three-way tie for the third-through-fifth seeds, which made things really interesting in determining seeding and home field advantage in the first round, which begins on Wednesday.
Lansdale Catholic slid into the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 seed Bonner & Prendie in the quarterfinal round. The Crusaders defeated the Pandas, 3-2, in the regular season finale.
OT game winning goal vs. Archbishop Carroll by Cardinal O' Hara Senior Sofia Brown. (Video/ James Williamson for PSD
Lansdale Catholic in game vs. Archbishop Carroll. (Photo/ Mark Zimmaro for PSD)
No. 4 seed Wood will host No. 5 Conwell Egan on the other side of the bracket. Wood has enjoyed home cooking this year with a perfect 4-0 PCL slate on home soil. The Vikings defeated the Eagles, 2-1, in overtime last week. It’s shaping up to be a couple of great quarterfinal matchups.
Flower Power
A late season feel good story came to fruition on Oct. 13 as Little Flower earned its first PCL victory of the year with a 1-0 win over St. Hubert on a goal by Allyssa Seifert. The Sentinels sat out the last two field hockey seasons and hadn’t won a PCL game since Oct. 16, 2019, when the Sentinels defeated Bishop McDevitt, 5-1. Welcome back.