Handball’s last game was on October 23, against Wootton High School. The final score was 17-9, Patriots.

This season, each player has found their own unique strategy. Sophomore captain Gretchen Roa likes to yell players names to distract them from their play. Senior captain goalkeeper Sam Philip loves to make diving saves when blocking a goal.

Philip had his best performance this season during the Wootton game. He organized his defense with poise and articulation and his amazing blocks have been saving the team all season. With his positive demeanor and love for the sport, Philip was able to get his team’s energy up by giving positive encouragement-a quality of a great team player.

“I just really enjoy playing handball,” Phillip said.

By halftime, the score was 11-2, but the Cats weren’t done yet. Coach Reif spoke encouraging words at the halftime meeting.

“When you catch and you’re open, just shoot,” Reif told her players. “You guys are doing a great job, don’t get down on yourselves.”

This really got into the player’s heads, as they came out second half with a more competitive outlook. Philip started out the half with a good tip over the goal. In the last five minutes, the Cats scored three goals!

Roa expressed how proud she was of her team.

“I think this is the best we’ve played all season defense and offense wise. We had a lot of shots, we didn’t make them all as you can tell, but we did really well,” Roa said.

Handball didn’t have the season they hoped to have, but they were able to progress just as much. The leadership and sportsmanship skills they have learned will last them a lifetime.

“We definitely grew over the season, but especially in our last two games against Whitman and Wootton. Against Whitman we kept it between four points, which was great, and at Wootton, we had the best defense I’ve seen all season. I am so proud of this team.” Reif said.