Athletes of the Week: Leah Cohen & Sophia Rosati

The ball arcs through the air and is intercepted by the stick of Leah Cohen, number 25 and co-captain of the Big Red field hockey team. In the background, the crowd roars with excitement. Cohen maneuvers the ball in between Pingree’s scrambling feet and, with a flick of her wrist, passes to fellow co-captain Sophia Rosati. A pull, a fake, a shot, and boom! Big Red takes the game. 

Cohen and Rosati, senior co-captains of the Big Red field hockey team, bring an outstanding skill set to the team and a combined 18 years of field hockey experience. With their leadership, they hope to carry the team towards another remarkable season.

Cohen started playing field hockey in fifth grade alongside her friends. Although she began her athletic career in individual sports such as swimming, Cohen soon found her talent in the team-oriented sport of field hockey. After her first season with the sport, she received the Rookie of the Year award, encouraging her to continue. 

Similarly, Rosati began playing at a very young age—third grade. Her love and enthusiasm for the sport only grew from there. One aspect of the sport Rosati particularly loves is the opportunity it provides her to “grow such quick and close bonds with so many good people.”

Big Red field hockey graduated quite a few athletes last year, so the team has welcomed many new additions to this year’s team. “I’m just looking forward to seeing how the new people play, and I think everyone’s been fitting in well so far,” Cohen said. Rosati shared similar sentiments, expressing her excitement to “[help] the newer players who want to get better and help the team bond.”.

Lower Molly Longfield said of Cohen and Rosati: “[They] are so willing to help improve everyone’s skills and are always there for everyone on and off the field.”

Apart from bringing the team together and offering guidance for new and returning teammates alike, Cohen and Rosati are also seasoned players that the whole team looks up to in energy and spirit. “They strike a healthy balance between creating team spirit and being dedicated and focused,” said assistant coach Mercy Carbonell. “I often ask them to demonstrate how to do a certain move or how to offer technical precision, and they always step into that role.”

Field hockey has granted countless memorable experiences for co-captain Rosati in her years of playing. She said, “I have lots of great memories with the team from the past four years from on and off the field, but my favorites are probably our close win against Milton last season and our past two E/a pep rally performances.”

Through her years in the sport, Cohen has also gained innumerable friendships and valuable lessons. Primarily, “[Field hockey] has helped my people skills,” Cohen explained. “Collaboration in general. You may think one way to get the ball up the field is the best, but someone else could bring up another play that may be better for the team as a whole.”

Both of the captains share a passion for field hockey. For Cohen in particular, her love for the sport helps her remain optimistic when it comes to difficulties off the field. “I like to be challenged. I like to have intense practices. Sometimes that means we get yelled at, but I see that as something that brings my energy up and makes me want to perform better. If you want to have a skilled team you need to have some kind of ferocity on the field and in practice.”

Rosati shares a similar level of motivation and love for the sport. Longfield chose the words “enthusiastic and passionate” to summarize Rosati’s attitude towards playing. 

“I have worked with a lot of captains in my life, and [Cohen and Rosati] stand out in bringing maturity and integrity to the program,” said Carbonell.

As dedicated co-captains, Cohen and Rosati’s first steps were planning activities and apparel for their team over the summer. “We just finalized our team gear, which is exciting because since prep year we’ve never been able to get team gear,” Cohen said. “It was a bit of a busy summer.”

Cohen is specifically going to focus on the team’s dynamics for this season. “I think the team every year since I’ve been on it has been getting closer and closer,” she said. “And I’d like to keep it that way. To be even closer than we were in the past seasons.”

Although Cohen has decided not to continue playing the sport in college, she is looking forward to her last season being on Exeter’s team. “[Field hockey has] been a big part of my life for eight years, and I think to just give it up is going to be sad,” Cohen said. “But I definitely want this last season to be the best one.”