Nobody was better than Nobles last season.
The Bulldogs dominated from start to finish, going undefeated with a 27-0-4 record. They ran the table in the Elite 8, eventually taking down Williston Northampton, 3-1, in the championship to claim their 11th title under Tom Resor and first since 2020.
It capped off a run that included a finish atop the ISL, a 19-game winning streak to kick off the season and a win at the Harrington Invitational Tournament for the 15th time since 2000.
Having that experience from last season is an important piece to start as the Bulldogs look for a repeat.
"First of all, just the experience of going through the whole tournament and obviously winning was a great feat," Resor said. "Getting a firsthand experience of what it's like to play that."
Replicating an undefeated season and a title is easier said than done, but Nobles' arduous schedule in the ISL leaves them battle-tested when it matters most each season.
"For us, finishing the season with the ISL games and being fortunate to win the ISL, I think that momentum carried into the tournament after a lot of tight and important games down the stretch," Resor said. "It was great for the kids to get that experience and come out feeling really good about themselves. I'm expecting that to carry over as we start the new season."
So, how can the Bulldogs repeat?
Plenty of returners up front
Nobles graduated just two forwards from last year's team, including one top-six forward, Maddie Krepelka (Arlington, Mass.; 12 goals, 26 points). Outside of Krepelka, 11 of the Bulldogs' top 12 scoring forwards are back in the fold.
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"I'm excited for all of them because the returning kids that we have all improved last year," Resor said. "You could see from the year before to last year. We scored a lot more goals, something that we really knew we needed to do."
Senior captains Molly MacCurtain (Reading, Mass.) and Calleigh Brown (Foxboro, Mass.) are each coming off point-per-game seasons. Brown, an Amherst commit, broke out for 36 points (18 goals) in 31 games, centering the top line with MacCurtain, a Northeastern commit who also had a career-high 31 points (14 goals) in 31 games.
Resor also expects fellow senior captain and Bowdoin commit Sage Albright (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) to up her production after seven points last season.
"Being their fourth year on the team, playing a lot and being the captains, we're really excited for them," Resor said. "Sage is someone who's just really improved year to year and I think will have her best year."
Behind the three seniors is where Nobles' depth shined last season. Take juniors like Rachel Zhao (Westwood, Mass.), Ashley Loeber (Weston, Mass.) or Yale commit Gretta Hulbig (Foxboro, Mass.). Each saw a massive leap in production, with Hulbig and Zhao finishing over the 20-point threshold.
There are also impact youngsters like sophomore Lily Bromley (Carlisle, Mass.) and freshmen Catherine McCool (West Roxbury, Mass.), Alexa Georgantas (Foxboro, Mass.) and Francie Ames (Brookline, Mass.). McCool put up 22 points (12 goals) as an eighth-grader, scoring in the Elite 8 title game.
"The new kids last year added a ton of talent and did not play like eighth and ninth-graders," Resor said. "I'm expecting them to continue that. I have complete confidence that they'll get better, but it's hard to score goals. So, the challenge will be not sort of expecting better results just because it's the next year, but understanding you control your work ethic, your approach and your process. The results, you're hopeful they'll be good ones, but you can't guarantee that."
Reloading on defense
The Bulldogs lost four pillars on the blue line, graduating leading scorer Olivia Maffeo (Canton, Mass.; 50 points), Large School Player of the Year Sophia Levering (Westwood, Mass.; 38 points), Jaime Griswold (Concord, Mass.; 10 points) and Ainsley Gray (Wellesley, Mass.; nine points).
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Maffeo and Griswold are now playing at Boston College, while Levering is at Yale and Gray at Middlebury. Each would have been a high-impact player on any other team in prep. Replacing them will be no easy feat for returners and newcomers alike.
The Bulldogs will look to their two returners to step up this time around. Senior Williams commit Laney Mead posted 10 assists last season, and junior Maddie Jaeger had seven points from the blue line.
"Our ability to play six defenders last year on a regular basis really helped us," Resor said. "Those two were the ones that really stepped up last year to be in the mix. This year, they'll be in different roles as the returning leaders and will see more time on special teams and so forth. Those two, I'm expecting big things from them, and they're excited for it."
Nobles got to work replenishing the cupboard this offseason, though, adding transfer Ava Decourcey (Rockland, Mass.) from Tilton as well as MIAA standouts like Nora Shea (Braintree, Mass.) and Reese Engel (Westwood, Mass.).
Decourcey, who reclassified to the class of 2027, has been a dynamic, productive defender in each of her first two prep seasons. She's coming off a 16-goal, 24-point season after posting 21 points (nine goals) the year prior.
"She's a dynamic defenseman, who's shown the ability to score goals, and I think that's a real added bonus and something that's necessary these days," Resor said. "Ava has played a lot of significant minutes for Tilton and had some playoff experience. So, we're expecting big things from her to be able to come in and add to us."
Shea is coming off a strong freshman season for Braintree, while Engel had nine points on defense as a freshman at Notre Dame (Hingham), reaching the Division 1 MIAA state title game. Shea skates with the U16 East Coast Wizards, while Engel and Decourcey play with the U16 Boston Jr. Eagles.
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"Reese is another experienced player from a good program, and with her size and athleticism, she's going to be thrown right in there," Resor said. "We're fortunate to have three new kids who already have good public or private school experience as well as really good club experience. The opportunities for them are wide open."
Big shoes to fill in net
Perhaps the biggest question mark for Nobles lies in net after graduating Elite 8 MVPÂ Anya Zupkofska (Braintree, Mass.), now a freshman at Brown. She dominated last season, posting a .950 save percentage.
As it stands, returning senior captain Annie Spring (Concord, Mass.) and sophomore Annika Jonas (Weston, Mass.) will have the opportunity to compete for the net. Each performed well in very limited samples last season with Spring saving all 50 shots she faced and Jonas posting a .914 save percentage.
"The job is open, and they'll compete with each other for it," Resor said. "We could very well have both of them playing in a tandem situation, or if one is playing noticeably better than the other, then that person will get the nod. But I'm anticipating both will be in the mix."
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Resor lauds Spring's athletic ability. She's committed to Middlebury as a lacrosse goalie and is also a standout on the golf course and in field hockey.
"She's just a wonderful athlete. She might be the most talented athlete we have in the school," Resor said. "Playing so many sports, she's maybe just not as well known in the hockey world but still really skilled. ... Annie's sort of a throwback, in a way. She's going to play lacrosse in college, but she could very well play hockey or field hockey if time allowed."
Jonas, meanwhile, comes from a family of goaltenders. She has had a standout fall with the U19 East Coast Wizards.
"Annika is someone who lives and breathes hockey," Resor said. "Her father's a goalie and her sister's a goalie. She's a kid who lives for the hockey. So, a different style [than Spring], but both have tremendous talent. We're confident in both of them."
