The Meridian High School field hockey team scored three goals in quick succession spanning the late third quarter and early fourth, and the Mustangs earned their first win of the 2025 season in their home opener against Mount Vernon.

School is back in session, and with it so are fall athletics. For Mustang field hockey, it couldn’t start soon enough as the squad looks to put last year’s heartbreaking playoff defeat to Culpeper County behind them. They finished 15-3-1, after going 21-1 en route to the State Finals in 2023, and the goal will be to return to those heights this season. Meridian’s campaign got underway with a pair of matchups against Division 6A opponents, and following a tight 2-1 loss to Annandale on Monday, Anne Steenhoek’s group hosted the Mount Vernon Majors on Wednesday evening.

It was a scoreless first half for both teams, and remained knotted well into the third quarter. Finally, Tricia Abedejos found the back of the net on a feed from Elly Shin and Cailyn Murphy to put the Mustangs ahead 1-0, and moments later, Zorah Randhawa doubled the advantage with an unassisted deflection on a short corner. The floodgates were open, and Shin tacked on one more for insurance in the opening stages of the final frame.

Meridian lost seven seniors from last year’s squad, and one of this season’s senior captains, Emma Flanagan, is currently out due to a quad injury. Still, it’s next one up for the Mustangs, as they figure to be a regional heavyweight once again in 2025.