"I called my husband's cell phone, and there was no answer," Polley said. "Then I called my son's cell phone, and there was no answer. There was no one around to tell."
Here's some more good news for Polley: The coach, who just completed her 43d season at Villa, has been named the Southeastern Pennsylvania field hockey coach of the year by The Inquirer.
Polley took a team that had some real question marks about it to the PIAA Class AA state final. The Hurricanes fell in the title game, 3-2, to Wyoming Seminary. They finished the season at 22-3, with the only other losses coming against Athletic Association of Catholic Academies rival Mount St. Joseph (3-1) and Wissahickon (6-5), both Class AAA teams.
Before losing to Wyoming Seminary, the Hurricanes had put together a 14-game winning streak in which they outscored opponents, 77-7, and posted eight shutouts.
With heavy graduation losses last spring and knowing her team would be without Meghan Murphy, a player she had been counting on, because of an injury, Polley wasn't sure what to expect this season.
As it turned out, she got another surprise. And she didn't have to go out and tell people, either. Her team took care of that for her.
Team of the year. It should come as no surpise that Villa Maria also has been named The Inquirer's team of the year.
With players such as senior Caroline Troncelliti, junior Olivia Bolles, and sophomore goalkeeper Maddie Joyce leading the way, the Hurricanes went further in the PIAA playoffs than any other area team. They won an unprecedented fifth straight District 1 Class AA title and their 10th overall.
Contact staff writer Don Beideman at 267-815-0733 or dbeideman@phillynews.com.
