It’s been a decade since senior Devyn O’Callaghan attended her first Fall Sting. Her love for the event showed: she was covered in face paint, cheering loudly for her older classmates, and pleading with her mom to stay later into the night. Now, a four-year varsity player and captain of the same field hockey program she used to watch, Devyn reflected ahead of her last Fall Sting.
“It’s a bittersweet moment”, Devyn said, “It’s really hard to think about this being my last Fall Sting, it has always been so special to me and such a happy day. I think this year I will take in the moment a lot more and appreciate what I’ve been able to have.”
The Fall Sting is one of Hackley’s most spirited traditions, uniting the K-12 community in support of the school’s student-athletes. Director of the Upper School Andy King argues that it is less about the games themselves and more about the students on the field and up in the bleachers.
“When we started thinking about the Sting, it was thoughtfully planned out to have our lower schoolers, middle schoolers, and upper schoolers together,” said Mr. King, “The fall athletic games were sort of the event at the end of the day, but I think what is really great is you see kindergartens through seniors having fun together and it’s really a great community event.”
As the sun beamed down, students rushed to catch Girls’ Varsity Soccer up on Pickert Field. With three minutes left in the first half, sophomore Gemma Lasky found junior captain Gabriella Petriello to put the Hornets up 1-0. Then, only two minutes into the second half, senior Linda Ohia-Enyia rocketed a shot into the top right corner of the goal to seal the game. The team won 2-1 over Horace Mann as they continued with their impressive season.
“So far, we have had an undefeated season and I think regardless we would’ve come into the season with a really good attitude,” junior Zion Bennett said, “There’s something about playing for the name on the front of the shirt and feeling the support at Sting that has helped us win, but also wanting to play well in front of your friends.”
As Girls’ Varsity Soccer celebrated, Hackley Varsity Field Hockey (HVFH) prepared to take on Horace Mann on the South Turf. Only a year ago, Horace Mann took HVFH to overtime on the same field. In front of a spirited home crowd, the NYSAIS runners-up were prepared to take no such risks. Senior Zora Blu Teacher opened the scoring in the second quarter of an assist from junior Fiona Pedraza. That goal was followed by senior Zoe Kalapoutis in the early third. With lockdown defense and incredible hustle, HVFH held Horace Mann scoreless and pulled out a dominant 2-0 victory. After the win, Zora took time to think about the significance of the game.
“Every huddle we had we were just saying we need to score,” Zora said, “So honestly when I scored I was just happy to get a point up on the board. I didn’t even think about this being my last Sting at all. I’m so excited for the rest of our season and all the seniors are ready to win. I love our team and everyone just wants to keep the good vibes going for the rest of the season.”
As HVFH wrapped up, Hackley Boys’ Varsity Soccer prepared for a battle. The 2022 NYSAIS Champions took on the defending NYSAIS Champions in Horace Mann. After an overtime thriller that ended in a tie earlier in the season, fans were ready for another hard-fought contest. After 85 minutes of no scoring, Horace Mann scored a goal to go up 1-0. With less than five minutes remaining, Boys’ Varsity Soccer captain Remy Becker slotted home a goal to tie the game as fans erupted with joy.
“It was really nice to see the support from the fans,” Remy said, “The team fed off the energy and spirit and we couldn’t have done it without them.”
Hackley suffered their only loss of the day in Girls’ Varsity Tennis to a strong Horace Mann team. The team fought hard to the end but fell short of a victory by one match. Wins from freshman Lili Kanev and sophomore Riya Monday in singles show promise for the defending five-time Ivy League champions.
“I feel great about Lili and Riya and am excited to see what they bring to the team in the future,” senior captain Bella Barriera said, “We still feel pretty confident and we are even hungrier for the win now.”
Under a full moon and a packed crowd, the undefeated Hackley Football team faced its toughest match yet versus Pingry. Hackley struck first with sophomore quarterback Grayer Hong diving into the endzone for a touchdown. After a field goal by senior Hugo Everitt, Hackley went into halftime down 14-9. A packed Hackley crowd continued to cheer unwaveringly attempting to aid the Hornets in their fight. After two touchdowns to senior captain Will Belleville, Hackley took control of the game and never looked back, winning 22-14.
Just like Devyn, this isn’t Hackley Football Head Coach Joe McDermott’s first Fall Sting. McDermott ‘14 was the quarterback for Hackley through his four years and played a pivotal role in winning his own Fall Sting games. After trading in his helmet and pads for a headset and whiteboard, his approach and love for the Fall Sting remains the same.
“It feels similar to when I was a player,” McDermott said, “It still gets the competitive juices going and it’s still the same excitement. As a player and as a coach, you are very excited to have the support of the community at the game. We are lucky to have such a good community to show up for us.”
