Otter Valley Union High School

 Homecoming at Otter Valley was a memorable day for our community. We dedicated our new athletic fields as well as our new varsity game field, the Markowski Field. OV Board Chairman, Jim Rademacher, Reverend Dick White and Associate Principal Nancy Robinson all spoke eloquently about what the fields mean to our community. A tribute to the Markowski brothers by Rob Naylor was also read by Mrs. Robinson. What a remarkable accomplishment for a small community like ours to come together to accomplish a goal like the fields to support our young athletes.  Many thanks to all who have contributed to its success.
The field hockey team finished #1 in the state with a record of 12-1-1. We recorded a significant win against Springfield 3-1 on goals by Aliza Hayes, Shayna McDonough and Emily Waldrip. This was against a team that had tied us earlier in the fall. We also fared well against Windsor a perennially strong opponent. Shayna McDonough, Emily Waldrip and Kristy Pinkham made the MVL All-League Team with Gary Hodder voted the Coach of the Year. Having won the MVL Division II title the squad was looking forward to the play-offs and their first round game against Woodstock. Sadly we lost 2-1 in double over time with eleven seconds to go. We played well and controlled the game but just could not find the net when needed. Having beaten Woodstock twice, the third game proved to be daunting. Woodstock was up to the task relaxed with nothing to lose and played us tough. Nonetheless our squad and coach had a memorable season and have much to be proud of. Coach Hodder noted the excellent work of those athletes on defense who contributed so much over the course of the fall. In particular he acknowledged goalie Chelsea Robbins and defender Marina Vitagliano for their keeping us in all our games.