Rancho Bernardo’s Hannah Jadgchew says defeat at Bishop’s was field hockey team’s turning point

After the coronavirus lockdown robbed 11 seniors of their final field hockey season at Rancho Bernardo High, the shortened season last spring was appreciated by the seniors, but left everyone else wanting a return to normal.

Welcome to normal, but the Broncos started slowly this fall.

Then came Game 5 at Bishop’s, a nemesis for coach Katy Sirota’s team.

Bishop’s, now 8-3 this season, blanked the Broncos 2-0 on Sept. 21, which pushed Sirota to address the rut her team was in with a 2-3 record.

“We seem to lose to Bishop’s all the time anyway,” Sirota recalled. “The girls were waiting for someone to do something to get us going. It was a totally ugly game.”

Afterward, however, someone stepped up.

Junior center midfielder Hannah Jadgchew admitted she played badly and vowed to change her game.

She has.

So have the Broncos.

Jadgchew — the “g” is silent in pronouncing her last name Jad-chew — has scored six of her seven goals this season since her enlightenment.

“The Bishop’s game was a turning point for all of us,” the 5-foot-3 Jadgchew said. “We all got the message because no one liked what was happening.”

Meaning — “The harder we work, the better off we should be.”

Rancho Bernardo is 4-3 since Sirota’s heartfelt talk with her team.

Rancho Bernardo High’s field hockey team.

(Courtesy photo)

Jadgchew said she holds aspirations of playing field hockey in college, so improving her game to help the team flourish is just part of her journey.

“For us, the Bishop’s game was not the best feeling ever,” Jadgchew said. “We found a way to get better for the next game. We’ve been super focused in the games since Bishop’s, even the losses.

“We are now way past the loss to Bishop’s,” she added. “We’re a new team.”

And Jadgchew is continuing on her new path.

Her best game was scoring all the goals in a 3-0 win over Mt. Carmel. It was her first hat trick for the Broncos.

“It was very exciting because I knew it would be a tight game,” Jadgchew said. “We have to do whatever it takes to beat Poway and Mt. Carmel when we play.”

Rancho Bernardo has moved out of the Palomar League into a different league. In the Valley League the normal rivalries are not in play as the Broncos face Sage Creek, San Dieguito Academy, Mission Hills, Escondido and Valley Center in league play.

Now 6-6 overall and 3-2 in league play, the Broncos are closer to what they could have been a year ago when they won all six games.

Jadgchew was born in San Diego but moved to Chesapeake, Virginia — field hockey crazy territory — at age 5 before returning to Rancho Bernardo in seventh grade.

While in Virginia, Jadgchew saw a tryout flyer for a sport she knew was wildly popular. She even took a few private lessons and discovered a love of competing.

“No words can describe how much I loved field hockey right off the bat,” Jadgchew said. “I found out I didn’t have to be super tall to play.”

Coming off a shortened season, recruiting is a bit behind for plenty of players, including Jadgchew. She still has not gotten much interest, but she’s hopeful it will come soon.

“We ask Hannah to score goals and distribute the ball for open shots,” Sirota said. “I know she can play in college and if she’s a (Division I) recruit, as I think she can be, she’ll be our first D1 player.”

Jadgchew took advantage of the lockdown from 2020 to go to work on her game. She ran more, hit the weight room and went to a facility in 4S Ranch to work on her stick play while she was doing Zoom classes.

“Last year’s seniors were happy just to get a few final games,” Jadgchew said. “I can’t imagine having a late senior year like they did.

“It taught me to not take anything for granted,” she added. “Just because you think you should have something doesn’t mean you can, unless you work extra hard to make it happen.”

A lesson all the Broncos, including Jadgchew, got this season at Bishop’s.