The Lynnfield field hockey team must forfeit its final two games of the regular season due to what Lynnfield Athletic Director Mia Muzio referred to as “an honest administrative error.” Muzio said the school was informed by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association late last week that it had scheduled too many games in violation of MIAA rules.
The MIAA had determined that the Pioneers’ schedule of 20 games was two more than the MIAA’s maximum number of 18 scheduled games for field hockey in a season. As a result, two games must be forfeited and recorded as 3-0 losses. While it isn’t clear if the forfeits had a direct impact on the Pioneers’ power rankings, based on their 10-6-2 record, the team dropped three spots to No. 8 in Division 4. As of Oct. 20, the Pioneers were ranked fifth.
But instead of feeling sorry for themselves or making excuses, the players and coaching staff were upbeat and positive, accepting the penalty in stride on their way to an energetic 3-0 win over host Marblehead Saturday morning.
“It’s our mistake. We should have caught it and we didn’t, so we are keeping that mindset other than there is nothing we can do about it now or in the future,” Lynnfield coach Samantha Pindara said. “We just have to adjust and play with what we are dealt and play hard to ensure we get the highest seed possible.”
The MIAA Handbook states in Part III, Rule 34 (Recognized Sports and Scheduling Limits for Schools) that the maximum number of competitions allowed for field hockey is 18 per season (3 per week). Rule 34.6 states, “Any school that’s overscheduling must forfeit the overscheduled game(s) listed on their originally committed schedule.”
According to its schedule, as posted on www.cal1970.org, the website used by Cape Ann League members, Lynnfield had, indeed, scheduled 20 games.
Pindara and Muzio confirmed that the school had scheduled 20 games, two more than the allowed number.
“(The MIAA rule) is written down. It was a mistake on our part,” Pindara said. “There are a couple of dozen teams that this sounds like has happened in the state, but it is written down.”
When asked what she told the team, Pindara, again, owned it, making no excuses or offering any explanations other than the truth.
“We, as a school, owned it. For whatever reason, it didn’t get caught. It is our fault and it’s no one’s fault but our own. We told the girls the first day we found out,” she said. “We did not keep it a secret from them. We sat down and talked about what it means and what we can do to ensure we are in the best possible position. We talk and work all year on mental toughness and we talk about things we cannot control. You can’t control refs, you can’t control weather… you can’t control grass or turf, and we can’t control this now. We didn’t, and so now that we didn’t, we have to adapt and the girls have taken that in stride.”
Muzio said the mistake should not detract from the fact that “the team has done so many amazing things this season.”
School Committee member Jamie Hayman, who has two daughters currently playing sports at Lynnfield High, said the scheduling snafu was “an unfortunate mistake.”
“it was just that… a mistake,” he said. “I appreciate Mia and Sam acknowledging the mistake with total transparency to those involved. This is the type of leadership that represents Lynnfield’s values and what we expect from our coaches and athletic director. This should have a minimal impact on the team’s seeding in the tournament and I have no doubt our field hockey team will not let this slow down what has been a tremendous season.”
