Monday, November 10, 2025
Every construction project on Long Island should be as fast as the one being built by the North Shore field hockey team.
There’s a huge youth movement at North Shore, with the largest roster coach Kelley Huggins has ever fielded. And the improvement from the beginning of the season, which to some was their introduction to the sport, to now has been monumental.
“This is just the beginning,” Huggins said. “First year, we’ve laid the foundation, and now we’re already building the walls. I’m super excited for the future.”
As the regular season winds down, North Shore is in a playoff push at 5-6-1 and unbeaten in its last three games, including 3-0 wins at Great Neck North and home over Long Beach, as well as a 2-2 tie against Friends Academy.
It’s a team that barely resembles the one that started the season, having never played with each other before.
“I’m super excited to see what they can do. We played East Meadow twice, we played South Side twice, we played New High Park twice, and each time we were better than the first time,” Huggins said.
“So now, fast forward another four weeks, I’m excited to see how much better we are today than we were on Sept. 16,” she added. “I’m excited to see their growth they made from four weeks ago because the growth in the first three weeks was tremendous.”
Sophomore midfielder Natalie Yoo leads the way, both in terms of her play and her leadership skills. She and Addison Lavelle scored in the tie against Friends.
“She just started playing field hockey her freshman year, but she’s just a workhorse, and she’s kind, compassionate, and she’s understanding, and she leads by example,” Huggins said. “She’s just a great role model for any upcoming athlete. Her work ethic is tremendous.”
Joining Yoo in the midfield is junior Lila Archer. The duo often dominate in the midfield, while also helping coach the inexperienced players on the squad. Archer, Fiona Brown and Hailey Colbert scored against Long Beach Oct. 3.
Maureen Roberts is a freshman midfielder who sees the field well and has good stick skills. Freshman twins Jackie and Victoria Monte play up front, both fast and aggressive.
In goal, senior Danielle DeMillio has been “electric,” according to Huggins, making one big save after another. She blanked Great Neck North and Long Beach.
In the back, junior Maddelyn Ford has come out of her shell this year and motivates with her energy and voice, while sophomore Julia Emmert is a quiet leader who regularly comes up with big stops. “She’s very humble, very quiet and shy, but her stick isn’t,” Huggins said of Emmert.
On the largest roster Huggins has fielded in her coaching career, there are the first seventh and eighth graders on varsity, including Lavelle on the forward line.
“I just saw a real athletic potential in them, and knowing it was going to be a building year, I wanted them on board,” Huggins said. “This is just the beginning. Call me back in two years from now, and I can’t wait to tell you that we're going to states with this crew. This is a really dedicated crew.”
