Photo courtesy of Doris Pursell
If you only casually keep tabs on local high school field hockey, it may seem like it’s been more of the same this season for the EPC–Emmaus dominating while the normal cast of characters–Parkland, Easton–put together valiant efforts to challenge the Hornet dynasty.
But if you look a bit closer, you may have noticed that an unfamiliar name emerged in the EPC and District XI 3A bracket–that of the Freedom Patriots.
The Patriots put together an 7-6 EPC record, which qualified them for the postseason for the first time in ten years.
The program came close the past two years–finishing 8-9-1 and coming just short of qualifying for either playoff.
Prior to that, Freedom finished 4-14.
That was Coach Chelsea (formerly Quinn) Cohen’s first year as Freedom’s head field hockey coach.
Photo courtesy of Doris Pursell
Cohen, a 2013 Easton graduate who continued her playing career in college at Ohio State, came to Freedom after coaching the JV team at Easton for five years. During that time, Easton was consistently advancing to championship games and putting together valient challenges to the Emmaus dynasty.
Coming in as the head coach of the program, Cohen was excited and eager to bring that same culture of winning from her time at Easton to the Freedom program. She admits that she had very high expectations when she first took over the program and that 4-14 first season was a bit of a reality check, leading Cohen to think: “this might not happen overnight”.
Cohen immediately focused on changing the mindset. She stressed to players that they had the talent they needed to be competitive, but they first needed to believe that.
This came naturally to the coach, who shared that she spent much of her four years at Ohio State developing grit and building character. Cohen said that when she arrived in Columbus, she realized she was suddenly a “little fish in a big pond”. She fought week after week to earn a spot on the travel squad, and she calls upon that experience of digging deep and working hard today as she works to build her program.
Now, it certainly hasn’t been all mindset. Cohen has worked tirelessly to develop her players from a skillset and experience perspective, all the while remaining focused on establishing a winning culture for the program. This ranges from everything from involving herself in local club field hockey organizations and encouraging her players to play in the offseason, to inviting middle school players to ball-girl at games.
Cohen’s involvement as a coach in the local club program, Phoenix Performance Academy, has created a bridge that provides an opportunity for her players to continue playing in the offseason.
“A good majority of the team has joined the club space and has been playing year-round, which is awesome to see,” shared Cohen.
“Girls getting the opportunity to play year round is important and a big part of the success.”
Photo courtesy of Doris Pursell
Not only that, but the offseason involvement has almost certainly contributed to players earning the opportunity to play at the college level.
This includes 2025 Freedom grad, Aly Laubach, who has continued her playing career at Mercyhurst. Cohen credits Laubach with contributing to turning the program around: “She just has that competitive edge and will to win. She was an amazing kid that everyone looked up to in a way that your program just feeds off those players”.
In addition to Laubach, Cohen highlighted Carly Kuehner, who was a senior leader on the 2025 squad. Kuehner has committed to play at Franklin & Marshall next year. Like Laubach, Cohen shared that Kuehner has a “want to win at all costs”, and that mentality set a valuable example for her teammates.
Cohen also offered praise to her coaching staff, many of whom have been by her side since she started at Freedom.
But they’re not done yet. Cohen is focused on making earning a spot in the playoffs the standard for Freedom field hockey. As they move into offseason training and focus on development and rebuilding, she’s not just looking to repeat the success, but to be even better next fall. She’s looking to find ways to turn some of those close losses and ties into victories.
“I just try to give them the tools and try to get them to believe in themselves. They’ve had the capability of success all along,” shared Cohen.
Photo courtesy of Doris Pursell
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
