Dover-Sherborn field hockey hungry to defend state title following playoff win over Medway

DOVER — As Nicole Mayer celebrated her team’s playoff win with family and friends during Sunday’s postgame, the Dover-Sherborn field hockey senior captain held a hat in her hand.

The cap – which is made of plush fabric – is shaped and designed like a hamburger.

It’s the prize for being named Player of the Game following D-S victories. The Raiders call it the “Big Mac” for Most Aggressive Competitor.

“Izzy (Friedel) and I are sharing the hamburger hat. It’s kind of a team-building thing,” Mayer said.

In a first-round playoff game on Sunday, Mayer scored one goal and added an assist while Friedel collected two assists to lead Dover-Sherborn to a 3-1 win over No. 23 Medway.

Now, the 10th-seeded Raiders will host No. 26 Wayland in the Round of 16 of the Division 3 tournament on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

And Sunday’s win gives the Raiders the chance to dole out the hamburger hat again.

“It brings the team together and gives everyone something to work for,” Mayer said.

Dover-Sherborn (10-6-1) worked hard for the first 15 minutes but to no avail on the scoreboard. After a scoreless first quarter, Friedel intercepted a Medway pass and traveled up the field early in the second frame.

A back-and-forth exchange with sophomore Avery Bent led to Friedel sending a pass through the box to Mayer, who smacked the ball in mid-air into the back of the net with 13:03 left in the first half.

“Our seniors, specifically, stepped up big,” said first-year D-S coach Molly McGill. “Especially our forward line.”

Medway nearly answered, however, a few minutes later on a shot from sophomore Maggie Monaghan. Her attempt ricocheted off of the post and elicited an “are you kidding me” response from longtime Medway coach Mary Ellen Hasenfuss.

With a little more than two minutes left before halftime, Mayer took the ball from a Medway player, passed it over toward Friedel and the senior passed it across the Medway crease again. Her hit found the stick of freshman Evie Schneider, who slid the ball into the back of the net for a two-goal lead.

“We did a great job communicating with each other to know who was open,” Mayer said.

Senior Emily Waugh added the third goal for the Raiders in the opening minutes of the second half. A goal from Medway freshman Olivia Melanson was the final score as D-S walked away with the two-goal victory.

“We came out a little bit flat, which I think is typical in the playoffs with the butterflies and nerves, but I was really proud of them,” said McGill, a 2015 D-S graduate who went on to play field hockey at Holy Cross. “I thought they worked hard for 60 minutes.”

It was a tough way to end the season for the Mustangs, who opened the fall with COVID-19 problems. Medway (4-10-3) lost eight players for 25 days and played its first few games of the year shorthanded.

“They never gave up. They fought to the very last whistle,” said Hasenfuss, who wrapped up her 50th season coaching the Mustangs. “It was a bittersweet kind of thing. We were hoping to go really far in the tournament and it didn’t happen, but that’s the game.”

Sunday’s game with Medway was the first playoff contest for D-S since the Raiders won a Division 2 state championship in 2019.

Friedel, who was born in England and moved from California to Dover in 2018, is the only current Raider that racked up significant playing time during their playoff run two years ago. So the daughter of former professional soccer player and coach, Brad Friedel, is happy to be back playing in the postseaon.

“There’s just so much adrenaline. It’s like do or die,” Izzy Friedel said. “It really brings everyone together as a team.”

So Friedel, why are you playing field hockey over soccer?

“After going to so many games, seeing the sport, I needed something different,” Friedel said. “I also am not very good with my feet.”

She just happens to be pretty good with a field hockey stick in her hands.

“Izzy is just the ultimate competitor,” McGill said. “We have extremely high expectations for her because she’s really the only one that has that true state championship experience.”

“She’s an incredible scorer,” said D-S assistant coach Thom McGill.

This fall, Molly was named the head coach of the Raiders after spending two seasons as an assistant coach. She brought her father, Thom, on board to help her on the bench.

“I can bounce ideas off him,” Molly said. “We’ve been having a blast.”

“I was called into duty,” said Thom, a 1982 Dover-Sherborn grad.

The McGill father-daughter combo brought the hamburger-hat ritual to the Dover-Sherborn sidelines this fall. They felt it was important to recognize those who go above and beyond.

And the Raiders have certainly ate it up. So how do we like our hamburgers cooked?

“Medium well,” Mayer said.

“Medium well all the way,” Friedel said.

Said Thom: “Medium rare.”

“I like medium, for sure,” Molly McGill said. “Right in the middle.”

Now, the Dover-Sherborn field hockey team find itself in the middle of the Division 3 playoff picture with the allure of a burger-cap custom keeping them going.

“Love it. It’s such a good team-building thing,” D-S senior captain and goalie Loren Root said. “It really brings us together.”

Tommy Cassell is a senior multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcassell@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Dover-Sherborn field hockey beats Medway in Division 3 playoffs