At first glance, sophomore Rebecca Frogel may not strike the image of a stereotypical macho goalkeeper. Standing at a mere 5 feet 2 inches tall one would’ve never guessed the goalie she would eventually become, and all through her own determination and hard work. Her sheer talent was able to solidify her spot as the 2020 Varsity Field Hockey Goalie, and since then Frogel’s records are mind-blowing. We can’t wait to see how far she’ll come, and we envision her goalkeeping skills will only keep improving. 

Entering her fifth season of field hockey, Frogel has always been enthusiastic about the season ahead, even this year, when the game she’s always known changed so drastically. You’ll always see Frogel on the field with a smile on her face through her goalie mask, cheering on her fellow teammates, and offering field insight to players from her goalie post. There was no doubt in her mind after her first year of field hockey in eighth grade that she wanted to pursue goalie.

“I was always interested in the thrill of having that moment where you have one job to execute and everything you do is a factor of the outcome,” she says, “since I enjoyed the position, it gave me every reason to want to improve.” 

And she certainly did! Starting her freshman year she was jumping into Varsity games, defending the goal post, bringing positivity to the team, and easily taking the lead Varsity goalie spot for the 2020 season. 

As far as struggles, Frogel would admit she has to remind herself to keep a positive mindset on the field even when the team is falling short and she’s getting lots of shots on net. This year, her challenges align with the new gameplay, a 7 v. 7 game to promote social distancing. 

“My biggest challenge this season has been making sure my teammates on the field are in the most beneficial spots for the situation, especially since we have a lot fewer players one at a time this year.”

This season, the WHS Field Hockey program was lucky enough to gain the addition of Coach John Griffinth, who works individually with Frogel on her goalie skills. 

She comments, “Having Coach John this year has been very beneficial for me… it helps me target what I can work on since he pays attention to specifics. It’s also nice to do more goalie-specific drills!” 

When asked about her main goal for the rest of this season, Frogel quickly responds, “Since we have already played each team at least once, my goal is to let in fewer goals than I did the previous time we played each team. 

As for the rest of her high school career, Frogel is adamant that she still has much to improve on. 

“My goal for the rest of my high school career as a goalie is to just keep improving and adjusting things in order to perform as well as I possibly can.”

Frogel admits that it was the guidance of her fellow teammates and coaches that have allowed her to grow into the athlete she is today. She hopes to pass on this knowledge for years to come and is excited to do so. 

She states “In my next two varsity years as an upperclassman I will be able to pass on my goalie knowledge by giving lower classmen advice based on things I have had to adjust for myself that made a big difference, as well as being able to explain what things have always been reliable and worked well for me.”

Rebecca Forgel is a key asset both on and off the field. Due to the reduced number of players on the field, she is seeing an uptake of gameplay in the defensive circle. Despite this Frogel is currently averaging around 20-30 saves per game, an impressive record, no doubt.

As for the fate of the 2020 varsity field hockey team, all is being done to prepare for playoffs. Tune in to the first round of playoffs to see Frogel in action on November 9th (location TBD) where Westborough will take on the Leominster Blue Devils.