It was symbolism at its finest. As the Lawrence High field hockey team battled Princeton Day School in the 2021 Mercer County Championship game, senior Talia Schenck had the ball on her stick.
All in attendance waited for the shot that never came, as New Jersey’s third all-time leading scorer sent a pass to freshman Caroline Rotteveel, who converted the historic goal that gave LHS its first-ever outright MCT title.
Reflecting on it, coach Megan Errico thinks it was perfect foreshadowing.
“I feel like that was the metaphorical idea of passing the baton,” Errico said, “because Talia was leaving, and Caroline really stepped up to be that offensive piece that Talia was for our team.”
And it became a seminal moment for Rotteveel.
“I’ve thought about it a lot; that moment was definitely important to me,” she said. “That freshman season was really what made me want to continue my field hockey career in college. Just having Talia trust me with that and having Errico trust me by putting me in during overtime, I think that solidified me as part of the team. I knew I was going to be a key part, and that made me feel very confident as a player.”
It was, indeed, the baton pass. With Schenck now at Princeton University, Rotteveel led the Cardinals in goals and assists each of the past two seasons with 25-13 in 2022 and 21-12 last year. She will probably do it again this fall as a strong supporting cast of eight other seniors surrounds her. They include Emma Burns, Mia Quattrochi, Bella Sanella, Riley Evans, Isabella Margolis, Peyton Valentino, goalie Tess Adolf (committed to Division II national champion Kutztown), and Molly Romaine, who helped Lawrence to a 9-7-3 mark and MCT semifinal berth last season.
“I’m really excited for this year,” Rotteveel said. “We’re gonna have a lot of people in charge. We’ve been playing together for our entire high school career. We are able to work well together, and with so many seniors, we are really devoted to the team. We just want to make this year really special.”
And the Cardinals have a special player up front to lead the way.
“Definitely, she’s the key to our offense,” Errico said. “A lot of our other returning players are more defensive. I’m looking for a couple of the younger girls to step up to help support that front line with Caroline, and we’re gonna have a great midfield. So if I play Caroline in the center or on the right, she should be OK.”
Rotteveel is a field hockey lifer. Growing up in Morgantown, Pennsylvania—a field hockey hotbed—she began playing recreationally for her mom in second grade. “I was playing all the time; we had really good rec leagues and always had tournaments,” she said.
When the family moved to Lawrenceville, Rotteveel began club hockey with Blue Star before moving to the renowned Princeton Field Hockey Club after her freshman year. She is still there, saying, “I like it there. I have great coaches.”
Entering her freshman year, Rotteveel was pleasantly surprised at how tough the competition was within her own team. But, “I was determined to make varsity and knew that I could. Over the summer, I practiced and ran so much. I was really prepared for it. The first week of preseason, being around the team, putting myself in that competitive environment made me determined to play varsity.”
She came to Lawrence as a defender, and Errico started her there during the preseason. That didn’t last long.
“I think she saw me play more as a forward and midfielder in a JV game,” she said. “Very close to the beginning of the season, she decided to put me as a forward, and I’m very thankful for that.”
Interestingly, Rotteveel did not feel there was a huge adjustment to be made, noting that players are interchangeable in her sport.
“As a field hockey player, I feel like a lot of people can agree that we are very versatile with our positions,” she said. “I feel like having Talia there as an example for a forward just helped me understand how that worked. It was a bit of a shift, and I think Errico also helped me a lot too.”
Rotteveel showed her potential that first season with 11 goals and six assists. There was no bigger goal than the MCT winner, even though Rotteveel didn’t immediately understand its significance. After scoring, she ran back to midfield to set up for the restart.
“We were talking on the sideline, and Errico was telling us it was sudden death, and I couldn’t pay attention to anything that was happening,” she said. “I was just really scared. She was trying to explain everything, and I was just like, ‘OK, I have to go out there and play.’ It didn’t really register in my head when I scored. I was just in shock.”
The shock wore off as she became the Cardinals’ unquestionable go-to scorer.
“Her ball control around other players is refined,” Errico said. “She knows how to eliminate a defender. It’s almost like in slow motion, and it works every time. She’s quick, obviously, but the way she does it is just very graceful. She knows how to work her way around the goalie.
“I like to describe her as calm but deadly, in a sense. She’s not like this super aggressive powerhouse player when it comes to shots and everything, but she is very beautifully skilled, very technical. She just makes plays happen. She definitely is quiet in the sense of her personality, but she is a leader. All her teammates look up to her.”
Not satisfied with just having nifty moves around the cage, Rotteveel has been developing a harder shot from long range this year, hoping to become an even more versatile and dangerous scorer. She is also taking that leadership role to heart.
“Talia had such a great impact on all nine of us seniors when we were freshmen,” Rotteveel said. “That’s what I want to do this year—I want to motivate my entire team. I want to be the person that will help anyone get into the sport. I want to spread this sport as much as I can. I’ve been playing for so long, and this sport means so much to me. I want it to continue to be a valued sport at Lawrence.”
Rotteveel, whose unique surname is of Dutch descent, plays the game “because she truly loves the sport,” according to Errico.
That love affair will continue, as the National Honor Society member will continue her career in a Patriot League known for academics and field hockey. She has committed to Colgate University in Hamilton, New York.
Raiders head coach April Cornell-DeAngelis called Rotteveel on the first day schools were allowed to have contact with players, on June 15 before her junior year. She attended a camp at Colgate last summer and made an official visit in February. There were also numerous camps at other schools, but this would be her only college visit.
“I loved it,” Rotteveel said. “The school is amazing; the academics are very good. The field hockey just felt like the right fit for me. It’s very competitive. The team and coach were amazing. I immediately felt that that was the place where I could see myself.”
It didn’t hurt that Colgate is nestled in rural upstate New York. The Rotteveels are frequent vacationers to such states as Maine, Massachusetts, and New York.
“We love it up there,” Rotteveel said. “I love the environment with the forests and the trees and the weather. It’s really pretty. The small-town feel is really nice. It’s just so pretty.”
Rotteveel sports a 4.0 grade point average and stays active in other activities. She is a member of Lawrence’s Bring Change to Mind Club (a mental health club), DECA, and the Baking Club.
“My major goal looking for a school was putting academics first,” she said. “Obviously, athletics are important, but it was just making sure it’s the right fit for me academically. I prioritize academics very much. And in field hockey, the Patriot League is very competitive.”
Errico feels that with Rotteveel’s decision already made, she can have a stress-free senior season.
“She’s 100 percent looking forward to just enjoying the year,” the coach said. “She can play for the sake of playing and not have to worry about where she will play post-high school.”
Rotteveel is just happy to continue playing, as field hockey courses through her veins. She loves the fact that every player on the field must work in tandem for success to occur.
“Winning as a team is the most important thing,” she said. “It’s not one person doing all the work. Everyone has an impact on the team and on the game.”
And Rotteveel has made a nice impact after taking the baton from the best player in school history.
Lawrence High School field hockey player Caroline Rotteveel. (Photo by Sam Pastorella.) ,
