When Katherine DiPastina joined the Derryfield field hockey team as a freshman, she excelled immediately, not only starting throughout the season but led the Cougars with 12 goals.

So it came as no surprise to Derryfield coach Lenny McCaigue that, when her younger sister, Anne, joined the team, there were some striking similarities.

“They are both impact players,” he said. “On the field, they of course look for each other, and they definitely have that sister-to-sister connection.”

The two just completed their first field hockey season playing together – they practiced together when one was in sixth grade and the other in eighth at Hopkinton Middle School – and Katherine agreed with her coach.

“(Anne) really stepped up a lot this year, and she’s made me that much more competitive,” said Katherine.

“Having her on the team with me just makes me more comfortable. I mean, I’ve had fun every year I’ve played field hockey because (the players) bond like crazy, but it’s amazing having Anne on the team. We know each other so well. It’s really easy for us to work together.”

Anne said Katherine’s experience has been irreplaceable. “She definitely taught me a lot in terms of drills and playing, and she helped me learn during practices and even in between halves during games, so I understood (the game) better,” she said. “She’s been a great mentor.”

Though Katherine is a forward and Anne is a midfielder, both have taken their ice hockey backgrounds – seven years playing together, including four for the Lady Monarchs – and translated their on-ice success to the turf.

“The contact in ice hockey certainly helps them be intense and aggressive in field hockey,” said McCaigue. “We’ve actually had to tone that back to fit in with the rules of field hockey.”

“When we’re fighting over the ball it gives us a one-up on other girls because we’re more used to being physical and taking the puck,” said Anne. “(As a midfielder) you have to shut (the opposition) down before they even get to the defense, so being aggressive definitely helps, and I think it’s also helped Katherine because she has the physical ability to just plow right through defenders.”

As a sophomore, Katherine broke the Derryfield single-season scoring record with 24 goals, then broke her own record this season by putting 29 goals in net.

As a junior, she long-since passed the DS career record of 39 goals and seems well on her way to putting the mark out of reach for some time.

In addition to Katherine’s stellar speed and ability to change direction without slowing, McCaigue said she has the intuition to always be in position to one-time the ball.

“She has the natural goal scorers’ ability to be in the right place at the right time and get her stick on the ball … and she’s not scared to miss, whereas some forwards will pass off in those situations rather than take responsibility for the goal,” he said.

“At Derryfield, we talk about being a forward with a capital ‘F’ as opposed to a forward with a lower case ‘f.’ She is a forward with a capital ‘F.’”

McCaigue’s experience as coach of the U.S. National Field Hockey Team tells him Katherine has the “it” factor. He said her innate ability will help her excel not only at any level of field hockey but at any other sport she plays. Anne, while not yet a prolific scorer, is perfectly suited to center Derryfield’s midfield the next three years. That suits McCaigue just fine.

“I think she is more of a creator than a dynamic goal scorer, yet she has the same qualities (as her sister) in terms of speed and intensity and aggression and just a real desire to compete,” he said. “I’m planning on building my team around Anne next year.

We talk about the center midfield position as being the center of the wheel and her spokes going all over the field, and I see her being that hub that provides a smooth transition between defense and offense.”

Playing alongside Julia Maldonado, who McCaigue said is one of the best players in state, Anne overcame some early troubles and learned to use her aggressiveness to control the midfield.

Six games into the season, the coach said she was playing at a junior level, far exceeding his expectations of a freshman player. Anne contributed five goals in the Class M-S championship run.