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CORTLANDT MANOR, N.Y. -- Walter Panas field hockey coach Rebecca DiSisto saw a familiar face when Lakeland arrived for a varsity field hockey game Saturday.
Younger sister Marissa would be playing against her older sisters team for the first time this season. When the game concluded, Marissa maintained bragging rights after a Lakeland victory.
It is the fourth time the sisters have met, with Marissa and her Lakeland teammates winning all four.
Marissa is the most sportsmanlike athlete I know, but like any sister she always enjoys telling me her team is going to win, said DiSisto, who started on the 2003 and 2006 Lakeland field hockey Class A state championship teams. I see Marissa every day when I arrive to teach my eighth-period class. She will always wish me luck when I leave my office for Panas.
DiSisto said it was inevitable that Marissa would play field hockey and also excel, considering Rebecca and sister Leah were excellent players and introduced Marissa to the game.
There is a six-year age difference between Marissa and I and a five-year difference between Leah and Marissa so she was dragged to everything when she was a kid, DiSisto said. But there were times Marissa insisted on missing her own activities so she could come to our games and cheer us on. She was always our biggest fan.
Marissa has kept the family field hockey tradition going when it comes to state championships. Leah was a goalie on the 2006 championship team and Marissa played on the 2011 state-title team.
I think it is great that Marissa has stuck with field hockey over the years. Marissa always had the goal of being on a state-championship team like Leah and I, and it was great to see her and her teammates accomplish that last year," said DiSisto, a Physical Education teacher. I am very proud of the hard work and effort Marissa has put into the sport and I am glad I have gotten the opportunity to see her grow as a player.
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