The field hockey season was drawing near and Notre Dame High coach Cheryl Harris was fretting over who would replace standout defensive center-midfielder Kalyn Rosica. Actually, she’d fretted about it all summer.
“I remember last year saying ‘I don’t know how we’re gonna replace Kalyn.’” Harris said. “Kalyn was incredible. She was our MVP for two years. I thought we’d struggle, but we’re not.”
The reason for that is Hamilton resident Kayla Delehanty has stepped in seamlessly to aid the Irish’s defensive cause. Harris knew that Notre Dame would score goals with Hamilton’s Ellie Marrone leading the charge. The coach was concerned how the defense would come together and, after a rocky start, it began to gel thanks in part to Delehanty.
The senior is the team’s flier on defense, meaning she sprints out to cover the girl who receives the ball on penalty corners in order to prevent an initial hit. She also plays in the offensive corners and can hit it on goal or pass off.
“She’s really an MVP on defense,” Harris said. “There’s so many times they should have scored on us on corners but they didn’t because of her. She’s really kept us in some games. She’s one girl I won’t take out.”
And why is that?
“She runs more than anyone on the field,” the coach continued. “She’s all the way up on offense and back on defense. She’s just a true athlete. She’s so athletic and her feet are always in the right spot. She always has her stick down. She’s just a great silent leader, she leads by example.”
Although midfield is a new area for Delehanty, her role is still the same since she has always been a defender. After being asked to replace Rosica, she knew her responsibility would increase.
“I was excited to take on this challenge,” Delehanty said. “Obviously there were big shoes to fill but I learned a lot from watching her lead the team. I felt prepared to take on this position and I give a lot of credit to Kalyn for playing a role in that.”
Delehanty never played field hockey before arriving at Notre Dame. She was looking for something different to do and, with a few friends, decided on field hockey “just for fun and to meet new people.”
“I immediately fell in love with the sport,” Delehanty said. “It is way different from the sports I have played in the past.”
As a 9-grader Delehanty started on defense for the Irish freshman team, saying, “I never really thought about being a mid or forward.”
She moved up to the JV team as a sophomore, and was not discouraged at all that she didn’t play varsity right away.
“Since I was new to the game, those first two years were definitely needed for me to understand the rules and how to play the game,” she said.
Harris was impressed by Delehanty’s abilities last year, and started her on defense.
“She was good, we knew at the end of the year she probably had the biggest chance to replace Kalyn,” the coach said.
Even Harris couldn’t predict how well she would do in her new role.
“She exceeded my expectations,” the coach said. “Last year at the end of the season she was voted team captain and was really surprised. She thought it would go to kids who’d been on varsity longer but her peers saw leadership qualities in her. We as coaches agreed. She earned it, she deserved it.”
Her new title made Delehanty an even better player.
“It was an honor to be named captain and made me elevate my play and step up my responsibilities to the team,” she said. “Being in this position, I can see the whole field which allows me to help the offense. I can also be a leader for the defense behind me. I’m glad this is the path I took because this position is where I feel most comfortable.”
Although her main role is to defend, Deleanty noted her duties are not exactly the same as last year.
“There is a major difference,” she said. “Last year I was a left back and this year being defensive mid is a completely different responsibility. I love being able to run the whole field and even have a chance to contribute on offense.”
Put the accent on the word “run” in that last sentence.
Delehanty has always tried to keep herself in shape by running or working out. This past summer she did strength and conditioning work at Thunder ‘N’ Lightning Performance center in Hamilton, which helped with season preparation.
“Her biggest attributes are strength and endurance,” Harris said. “She’s got really hard hits. She can send the ball all the way up the field. After playing 50 minutes she just doesn’t run out the game. She’s playing the same way at the end as she is at the beginning of a game. She doesn’t get tired.
“That’s really important because we don’t have the numbers this year. So it would have been hard to sub. We were worried about that, but we haven’t had to sub her out at all.”
In that way, Delehanty is leading by example.
“I try to find a way to get her out of the game but she never seems to need it,” Harris said. “The fact she’s still sprinting on the field in the 50th minute gives everybody the push they need to continue.”
Delehanty hopes to continue playing for a club hockey team in college. She recently sent out her first round of applications and has a pretty good resume to brag about. Aside from classroom excellence, she is in Notre Dame’s Morgan’s Message club, Joey’s Little Angels and Catholic Athletes for Christ.
“But as of right now the two things I am focused on are my grades and taking this team as far as possible in the post-season,” Delehanty said.
The first part of the post-season went well for Notre Dame, which reached the Colonial Valley Conference Tournament championship game before dropping a one-goal decision to Allentown. The Irish carried a 13-2 record into the last full week of October.
The Irish’s success has gotten several other contributions from Hamilton residents. Entering state play senior forward Ellie Marrone had a team-high 23 goals and 12 assists, sophomore midfielder Victoria Suschke had seven goals and eight assists and sophomore Grace Marrone, Ellie’s sister, was starting on defense.
“Ellie and Tori are both leading the offense and having unbelievable seasons,” Delehanty said. “They are the key to making the offense click and it’s shown by the amount of goals scored this year.”
Ellie Marrone started as a freshman and Harris said “we knew this would be her year.” One of the CVC’s top scorers, Marrone has been aided by Suschke’s position change.
“Tori’s incredible,” Harris said. “She’s our attacking center midfielder, she took over Ellie’s position. If I didn’t have Tori, I would have Ellie at attacking mid and Ellie would not be scoring the goals that she’s been able to score on the forward line. Tori’s been taking that challenge on.”
Meanwhile, the younger Marrone has shored up things in the back.
“We tried Grace as a midfielder and a forward all through preseason, and on the last day, we decided we would need her on defense if we wanted to make the impact that we did,” Harris said. “It was probably the best decision we made putting her on defense.”
Delehanty looked beyond the Hamilton connection and raved about the chemistry of the entire team.
“We are very close-knit and feed off each other,” she said. “I think that shows in how we move the ball down the field and work together as a team.”
All that may be true, but Delehanty has certainly been a key contributor.
“There’s no way,” Harris said, “that we would be 13-2 without her.”
Kayla Delehanty plays for Notre Dame field hockey against West Windsor Plainsboro South on Oct. 14, 2024. Notre Dame won 2-0. (Photo by Suzette Lucas.),
