The Nobles girls' team lost one game last season. It happened to be the championship, when it fell to Williston Northampton in the Elite 8 championship, 2-0, and missed out on an undefeated season.
But legendary Nobles bench boss Tom Resor, who has 10 NEPSAC championships in 20 seasons, has no regrets when he looks back on the 2021-22 season.
“I can think of maybe one or two periods where boy, we just didn’t have it,” Resor said. “That’s how consistent we were. You’re really hoping to have that kind of consistency and things will take care of themselves… The last game, Williston was a great team.
“They were the better team that day — not by much — but we can’t fault anything we did.”
Nobles found consistency without three seniors who were expected to be impactful. Kate Ham (Hingham, Mass.) and Sophie Ensley (Sudbury, Mass.) — who are now all playing at the Division 1 college level were both lost to injury in fall hockey. Then, in her first shift of the season, Kaley MacDonald tore her ACL.
“I had some real doubts about how we would be able to play at the level we had been at,” Resor said.
Here’s how Nobles looks heading into the 2022-23 season.
Replacing Emmy O’Leary
Last year, when Ham, Ensley and MacDonald were sidelined, Emmy O’Leary (Southborough, Mass.) stepped up in the Nobles offense. She led the team with 34 goals.
O’Leary is now a freshman on Princeton’s squad.
“The hardest thing in all of hockey is scoring, but especially on the girls' side,” Resor said. “The goalies are really good. They’ve gotten much more coaching over the years. They’re more proficient, there’s a lot more quality players so there are really not any weaknesses on other teams. There’s a lot of low-scoring games.
“Having kids who can score, just have that knack, and we graduated one of the best in O’Leary. She also took some pressure off other kids because other teams focused on her. That’s a question we have.”
Fortunately for Nobles, the Bulldogs have the personnel. Brooke Manning, a senior forward from Marshfield, Mass., who is committed to Harvard, and Ellie Mabardy, a senior forward from Winchester, Mass., who is committed to Northeastern will both be relied on quite a bit for goals.
While Mabardy broke out last season, potting 25 goals, Manning has dealt with injuries off and on throughout her time at Nobles.
“I’m hoping she can stay healthy and really have a season,” Resor said of Manning.
And then there’s Olivia Maffeo.
Maffeo, a Canton, Mass., native, is a defender by trade. She’s even committed to Boston College as a defender. But Resor moved Maffeo up to offense last season due to injuries on the roster and depth on defense. The returns were immediate, as the future Eagle posted 19 goals.
“We’re leaving her there,” Resor said.
A young star to keep an eye on is Molly MacCurtain, a sophomore from Reading, Mass., who had a big freshman season playing inside the top six. Nobles also brought in Maddie Krepelka, a junior forward from Arlington High School, to bolster offensive depth.
Depth on defense
Maffeo was able to move to forward last season because Nobles was so deep on defense.
That hasn’t changed.
Nobles returns two of its captains on the back end, with Clare O’Connor (Newton, Mass.) and Cali Cerruti (Norwell, Mass.). O’Connor is committed to Amherst, while Cerruti has Providence as the college next to her name.
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Other key pieces on the back end are juniors Sophia Levering (Westwood, Mass.), who’s committed to Yale, Jamie Griswold (Concord, Mass.) and Ainsley Gray (Wellesley, Mass.), as well as senior Carly Ward (Dedham, Mass.) who’s committed to Wesleyan. Laney Mead (Bedford, Mass.) is a newcomer from Bedford High School.
“We’re excited about what we have [on defense],” Resor said. “Hopefully it will allow us to play a real up-tempo, fast-paced style because we do have depth on the defensive side.”
And then there’s goalie Anya Zupkofska, who stepped in last season and posted a great year as a sophomore. It was her first year as the starter.
“We didn’t miss a beat [in net],” Resor said.
Expectations
Resor has been behind the bench at Nobles for a long time. He’s no stranger to approaching a season with high expectations.
Still, the bench boss doesn’t set expectations for his group.
Resor looks at the season in thirds, with the first third coming up to the holiday tournament.
“For us, if we do well in our holiday tournament, maybe we get a chance to win or get to the finals, we know we’ve been successful to that point,” Resor said.
Then come January and February, which are heavily focused on league games in the ISL.
“We play 12 of our ISL rivals and that’s where you really see the body of work. So you sort of look at that as an indication if you can do well with those games that you’re going to put yourself in a good position as you come down the stretch,” Resor said.
Once the ISL wraps up, it’s time for the NEPSAC tournament. Resor is no stranger to competing for the top spot in prep hockey, which creates an interesting dynamic with his players.
“We’ve had lots of success, more success than maybe we deserve,” Resor said. “I forget sometimes that the kids see that and they know that. They see the banners and there’s pressure on them to live up to that. So I found myself spending more and more time with, ‘Forget about that, this season is a new season.’
“This is your team, this is what we do from the first day of the season to the end, that’s what we’re going to look at and evaluate. That’s the body of work we want you to accomplish.”
