Montclair Field Hockey Coach
Retires With North, Gr. 4 Title

MONTCLAIR- Both a love and understanding of what is important in high school athletics germinated as a youngster growing up while excelling in three sports at Columbia High School in Maplewood.

Mary Pat Sherwood not only competed at a high level in field hockey, basketball and softball, but also gleaned knowledge watching the work of her coaches, fellow Columbia High Athletic Hall of Famers Melinda Gardner and Tom Ruggiero.

Sherwood also comes from a sports-minded family. Her talented siblings also excelled at both Columbia and then in college. Older brother Jack shined in football and baseball in high school and then played the gridiron game at James Madison University, while younger brother Dave starred in lacrosse at Loyola of Maryland after being one of legendary Columbia coach Bob Curcio’s all-time best players.

Following her college days at both Marist, where she played basketball, and Montclair State, where she earned her degree, Mary Pat coached briefly with Gardner back at her high school alma mater before beginning to raise a young family with husband Steve.

The yearning to return to coaching was strong and when the opportunity came along in 1994 to assume the reins of the Montclair High field hockey program Mary Pat Sherwood Mercuro was more than up for the challenge.

The Mounties had gone through three different coaches in the four years following the retirement in 1989 of MHS field hockey legend Louise Bellace and needed some stability along with success which was definitely going to be the case with Mercuro coming on board to run the show.

Bellace had already etched her mark in Mountie athletics history by guiding the MHS stickers to Group 4 state championships in both 1980 and 1985 along with winning five Essex County Tournament titles.

Time has indeed now passed quickly from when Mercuro took over as head coach in 1994 to just recently as the 2024 field hockey season ended with the Mounties putting together one of their best seasons of all time while finishing 20-4 overall, with a No. 5 ranking in the state and highlighted by capturing an NJSIAA North, Group 4 state tournament championship.

And, while the season ended on Nov. 16 in Bordentown with a tough 2-1 loss in the overall Group 4 state final to now 3-time defending champion Kingsway, the conclusion of a final campaign in the superb 31-year coaching career for Mercuro could not have been any more enjoyable for the longtime guiding force, her staff and her players.

The veteran Mounties field hockey mentor retires with the longest run of any head coach in MHS history with 31 years at the helm. Her fellow Columbia High School graduate Jack Weber is next at 30 seasons which he spent with the Mountie boys soccer program before leaving that post in 2016 to take the reins of the team in his longtime hometown of Verona.

“It’s been an incredible experience for me through the years coaching so many great players and just outstanding young ladies at Montclair,” said Mercuro, who along with her husband Steve have three grown children who range in age from 25 to 34. “This season was particularly enjoyable with the group of girls we had, led by 13 terrific seniors, seven of whom played all the time, and a group of talented younger players as well.

“Our sideline was amazing with the good vibes it had each and every game. Everyone played for each other and the positive energy was just so pleasurable to be a part of.”

One reason Mercuro can feel comfortable leaving coaching now is because she feels the program is in excellent shape plus there have been three superb assistant coaches on hand.

“My retirement comes with knowing - without a doubt - that I have a coaching staff that is first-rate, and if any one of them decides to pursue the position and are selected to lead this program, we will be in great shape moving forward,” said Mercuro. “There is also excellent talent in the program, and a love of the sport that simply continues in the tradition that Louise established back in the day.”

Former Mercuro Mountie player Rebecca Ferguson along with Nutley native Brielle Feaster and ex-West Essex standout Michelle Hagel comprised the superb staff the veteran head coach enjoyed working alongside, while they worked together to mold one of the program’s best teams in a rich history of the sport at MHS.

Mercuro, a member of Columbia High School’s Class of 1980, and a 2008 CHS Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, compiled an impressive record of 457-146-53 in her 31 seasons at the helm while directing her Mountie stickers to seven state sectional titles (2003, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2024), and two Essex County Tournament crowns (2005 and 2010).

MHS gave perennial champion West Essex a real run for its proverbial money in this past season’s ECT final, falling 3-2 in a very close county tourney championship match at the Knights’ Travis Field in North Caldwell.

The Mounties had also lost to West Essex, 5-1, in their regular season meeting; however, that match was tied 1-1, in the fourth quarter before Wessex took control.

In essence, the 2024 MHS field hockey squad competed at a high level with everyone it played, and rolled to the North, Group 4 title culminating with a 5-1 triumph over Phillipsburg, led by Middlebury College-bound senior Eliza Larson’s 3-goal hat trick.

Against Kingsway, a team that had outscored its three previous state tourney opponents, 34-3, heading into the Group 4 final, the Mounties more than held their own with the defending state champs as the match was tied 1-1 in the late going before the South Jersey school’s Erin Callhan scored off a corner for the game-winning goal with just 3:50 remaining in regulation.

“Our girls played a great game and can be very proud of their effort against a strong Kingsway team,” said Mercuro. “We showed once again that we belonged with the best in the state this season!”

The 2024 team featured plenty of talent in a deep lineup that thrived behind its solid senior vanguard setting the tone.

“We’ve been fortunate to have a tremendous group of girls throughout all my years at MHS, and this season is no exception,” said Mercuro. “There were certainly some very talented players on our team this fall, and several of them had already been through many big games with us along with having experience on the club field hockey scene as well.”

Junior Ceci Cowart, a Wake Forest commit, led the Mounties in scoring (26 goals and 26 assists) and excelled all over the field this fall as either a forward or midfielder. She is also a national-level player as a member of the U.S. Under-16 Olympic team.

Sophomore Caitlin Gorman (17 goals, 9 assists), another versatile forward-midfielder, is another of the accomplished club players and standout underclassmen on the MHS squad.

The veteran senior Eliza Larson (21 goals, 13 assists) was outstanding all over the field and superb at scoring in big moments, as she did in overtime to defeat crosstown rival Montclair Kimberley Academy earlier in the season, and then again with her scoring prowess throughout the county and state tournaments.

Another strongpoint for the Mounties this past season was their defense with the return of veteran performers such as seniors Reese Festa and Lily Donohue and junior Layla Anderson, who all provided a strong backbone of resistance in front of steady senior goalie Charlotte Andes.

While she experiences the sunset of her high school coaching career, Mercuro can also reflect at times on those years back in Maplewood and South Orange that now seem so long ago, but were filled with important influences in her life.

“Both Tom Ruggiero (her coach in basketball and softball) and Melinda Gardner were tremendous mentors for me,” said Mercuro. “There is no doubt that I learned some basic lessons of teamwork and dedication that they instilled in me as a young student-athlete.

“And, I’ve done my best to try and impart to my players what I have learned coaching a sport that I have loved to be a part of for a lifetime, and hopefully they will also continue to remember some of the wonderful times we all have had together!”

Follow Steve Tober on Twitter @Chattermeister