Watertown field hockey team break national shutout record with help of lead scorer, Molly Driscoll
WATERTOWN - The Watertown women's field hockey team, the Watertown Raiders, is receiving national attention thanks to their record-breaking dominance in the sport.
The team currently holds the record for longest consecutive shutout games in field hockey with 37 games, beating the previous record by 5 games.
They have not given up a goal since September of 2022. And for 38 years, Eileen Donahue has coached the Watertown Raiders to success.
"We focus just as much on defense as offense. And I know offense gets the credit a lot. But I was always a defensive-minded person. So we focus a lot on the basics and yes we do a lot of running," said Donahue. "Success just does not happen, it's a big process and it's hard to be a part of this program, but once you're in, you learn to appreciate what hard work is."
Senior Molly Driscoll is the leading scorer on the team, and one of three captains. She is just one of the players who is working hard to keep the record going.
"It definitely means a lot to me and it's almost like this satisfying feeling of being like, hey, all this hard work that we put in, it finally comes together and you just feel really accomplished and proud of yourself and proud of the girls on the team," said Driscoll.
The team is like a family, but for Molly that is literally the case. Her mom played for the same coach at the same school, and her oldest sister, Maggie, also played on the team. Maggie graduated last year.
"Playing with my older sister Maggie was great. At first it was hard and then we learned to grow. Ok, we're in it for the next three years, might as well get along with each other!"
Now her younger sister, Regan, is a freshman on the team.
"I think it's less pressure and more, like, an expectation," said Regan Driscoll. "And just making sure that I'm always working hard and not giving up on any play to make sure I'm staying to that expectation. Because I don't want to be bad compared to them, I want to be like them, so I know that I just have to keep trying."
The team holds the national record for 184 undefeated games, and 124 consecutive wins in the field hockey. They are also the back to back state champions in both 2021 and 2022. The team currently has a 70 game winning streak.
Molly and her sister Maggie will continue playing field hockey together at Boston University. Molly has committed to play field hockey at Boston University in 2025, and her sister Maggie, is currently a freshman on the team.