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LHS field hockey looks to build on last year’s success BY RICH FISHER
When Petra Doherty joined the Lawrence High field hockey team as a freshman, her individual skills were sharp, but an understanding of how to play her position on the field needed some work. Then it all came together for Doherty as a junior last season, when she not only understood how to play one position, but all of them. “Something that sticks out for me is she has played every single position for me,” coach Megan Errico said. “I probably move her at least three times during a game. Who we play is kind of dependent on where Petra will play because I trust her at every position. “She started as a forward, then for a while I played her as a defender, now I have her as a mid. Every game I could change her because I trust her in all those positions. And she doesn’t complain about it, which I think is the best aspect of it.” It is a major difference from when Doherty entered high school. She had done individual work with Princeton University assistant Melisa Meccage for
three seasons and her stickwork and speed were in place. Her understanding of the game, not so much. “Her individual work is incredible,” Errico said. “I think it took her some time to really develop over the last few years as a field player. She did a lot of individual work with Melisa Meccage, who is outstanding. But playing different positions and being on the field as a team player was difficult.” The coach was quick to point out that did not mean Doherty was selfish. She was just uncertain. “It was just more like understanding the role of a left back or a right forward, what to actually do when you’re on the field, where to be on the field,” Errico said. “It’s not (a case of) taking the ball and not giving it up, but more where she is on the field and what she should do there. That really changed last year as a junior.” Doherty admitted to some trepidation when she started field hockey; but as things progressed, she figured it out. “I think since I was so new to the sport, I didn’t really know my role on the field and what was See DOHERTY, Page 8
A rider on a decorated bike prepares to ride in a previous Lawrence Hopewell Trail Full Moon Bike Ride. (Photo courtesy of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail.)
Lawrence-Hopewell Trail at 20: a look back, a look ahead BY JOE EMANSKI
It would be fair to describe Lawrence Hopewell Trail cofounders Becky Taylor and Eleanor Horne as visionaries. A little over 20 years ago now, the pair took an idea that critics said was impracticable — a network of walking and biking
paths connecting a clear path through the communities of Hopewell Valley and Lawrence Township—and made the idea a reality, one stretch of pathway at a time. Now a 22-mile loop of linked biking and pedestrian segments, the LHT has developed with the support of numerous public,
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private and nonprofit organizations. The paths wind through public parks, corporate campuses and municipal centers. Thousands of people use the trail for recreation each year. The nonprofit Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corporation hosts several marquee events See LHT, Page 4
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