Everybody got in on the fun for the Jay High School field hockey team this year. And there was a lot of fun to be had.

The Tigers had 15 players earn letters. Eight of those got into the scoring column. Five scored five goals or more, and three reached double digits.

With six seniors returning as starters, coach Jane DiPompo expected the Tigers would get a lot of people involved this year. But before the season was over, so many players had gotten involved that they became a very tough team to beat, all the way to the Western Class C final.

“It was different people in the assist column than it was in the scoring column. We had people running the field well and then we had people scoring,” she said.

Jay played with speed and control, with those six seniors – Emily Boivin, Betsy Gemelli, Katie Hall, Liz LeBlanc, Sierra Loon, and Bryndi Richards – setting the tone.

The versatile LeBlanc tied for the team lead in goals with junior Kelsea Beisaw with 12. LeBlanc was named the Mountain Valley Conference’s Player of the Year and was one of three Tigers, along with Beisaw and Hall, to earn all-conference honors.

“She has great athletic ability and field sense,” DiPompo said of LeBlanc. “She knows where she is on the field. She knows where the ball is. She predicts where it’s going to be and she knows where her teammates are. She’s just so great to be with on the field because she’s so smooth.”

With LeBlanc, Beisaw, Hall (11 goals) and juniors Gina Nemi and Shayna Meserve (five goals each) on the attack, Jay was difficult to keep off the scoreboard. They were only shut out twice and outscored opponents, 55-18.

Loon, a backup goalie since her freshman year, stepped in and played solidly in the cage. Fronted by a staunch defense led by Boivin and Gemelli and reinforced by Eliza Gemelli, Brittany DiPompo and Hillary Chaney, the Tigers posted seven shutouts, including back-to-back blankings of Sacopee Valley and top-seeded Telstar in the Western C playoffs.

The Tigers knew how to bounce back from adversity. During their 10-4 regular season, they suffered two particularly crushing losses, to rival Livermore Falls and Telstar. Jay fought both teams to the final minute of the second overtime before running out of gas. But they ultimately gained their revenge, knocking off the Andies, 2-1, in their second meeting, then upsetting the Rebels in the regional semifinal.

Unfortunately for Jay, there were no second chances after their third final-minute defeat. With 57 seconds left in the regional final against North Yarmouth Academy, a shot glanced off the foot of a Jay defender and past Loon into the cage for a 1-0 loss.

The Tigers finished 12-5 and went deeper than any Mountain Valley Conference team this season, in the playoffs and in the number of players contributing to a memorable season.