Faith-driven Mastrorilli’s field hockey talent only part of her value to St. Rose
October 10, 2025 at 2:14 p.m.
St. Rose, Belmar, field hockey coach Angela Teeple leaves nothing to the imagination when discussing senior Madison Mastrorilli’s value to her team.
“She controls our whole field and is an excellent captain,” Teeple said. “Maddie has no weaknesses and complements all our players.”
There are two factors for that – work and dedication.
“I spend so much [time] with the game of field hockey when I’m not playing (for St. Rose),” said Mastrorilli, who has practiced alone in her basement since ninth grade. In addition, she plays with her club team year-round and has competed in several out-of-state tournaments.
“Sometimes it can be stressful, but when I am very locked in, it is a way to calm myself down,” Mastrorilli said. “I truly love the sport. I coached the younger teams at Shore STX [club program] and helped them learn the basics as well as upgrading their skills. [STX] coach Katie [Sawicki] has really taught me everything I know and I hold her dear to my heart.”
That’s just one of Mastrorilli’s strong relationships. Another is with the Lord, as she regularly attends Mass in St. Catharine Parish in her hometown of Spring Lake.
“I lean on my faith both on and off of the field,” she said. “Without God, I don’t know what I would do because I come to him a lot and spend a lot of time talking to him.”
Maddie is a member of Catholic Athletes for Christ and thinks “it is such a great part of St. Rose.” She attends Mass inside the school chapel during her flex time and is a Eucharistic minister who helps out at her church and in school Masses. Another activity is teaching religious education to St. Catharine fourth-graders.
In short, field hockey is just a fraction of Mastrorilli’s contributions to St. Rose and beyond.
She serves as a school ambassador because “my parents, aunt and uncle, and my nana and her daughter and son went there too.” Her clubs include Lighthouse (a mental health club) and Surfrider (protecting beaches); and she was chosen as a freshman to join the newly formed Hope Squad (suicide prevention).
“You get picked by people who think you are someone easy to come to,” she explained. “and you would be there for [those in need] and help them get the right help that they need.”
As a member of the National Honor Society, Mastrorilli has a grade point average of 99 out of 100. And yet she still has time for field hockey, which is one of her great outlets.
Mastrorilli grew up playing basketball, lacrosse, tennis and swimming but fell in love with field hockey when she started at age eight. One day at St. Catharine School, her gym teacher handed her a flyer after class for the fledgling Shore STX field hockey clinic.
“I’d only heard of the sport because my sister started playing in high school but I had no idea what it was,” she said. “My mom signed me up for the first clinic.”
That’s all it took to hook Mastrorilli, who began playing for the Shore STX travel team. Her improvement was so rapid that early in her career an official approached Maddie’s mom to comment on how good she was.
“That gave me so much confidence,” said Mastrorilli, who played forward until this season. “I still remember that ref today. She still refs a lot of my games and always says hello.”
When Maddie got to St. Rose she played sparingly as a freshman and had two goals and two assists. As a sophomore starter she scored five goals, and last year tallied a team-high 12 goals and five assists.
When Teeple became the Purple Roses’ third coach in four years, she wanted to properly utilize Mastrorilli’s speed, stick skills and aggressiveness and moved her to midfield. Suddenly, Maddie was playing offense and defense.
“I wasn’t quite sure if I could do a good job, because midfield runs the whole field,” she said. “But I ended up loving it since I have to help both the back defenders and the high forwards.”
Mastrorilli has sacrificed her scoring somewhat this year and had five goals and five assists through St. Rose’s strong 7-3 start. Juniors Lucie Sgmmato and Fiona McKeon and freshman Emily Neuwirth have picked up the slack with a combined 24 goals.
Mastrorilli’s value goes way beyond her stats.
“I’m able to get the ball up the field faster and protect it from coming back down the field when we need to keep it in the circle,” she said. “Sometimes it can be really hard to just get it inside the circle and the other midfielders and I tend to do a good job at that. Whatever is best for the team is what I want to do. My teammates are the best and I love playing with them.”
Mastrorilli’s hockey aptitude and ability to see everything on the field have made her a natural fit at midfield.
“It is a very big awareness and instinct game,” she said. “You have to know how to read the field, because the ball can move so fast and if you’re two steps ahead, it just makes everything simpler.”
The talented player admitted that it has been “a rollercoaster” playing for so many coaches, but praised Teeple for having “such a heart for mental health and creating the best players out of us as she can. She has a great eye for field hockey.”
Mastrorilli hopes to continue her career with a club field hockey program in college. She is still sorting through her school choices and majors, trying to decide between nursing, speech pathology and early education.
Wherever she ends up, Mastrorilli realized who made it all possible as she was interviewed for this story.
“I really want to thank my parents for giving me all these opportunities,” she said. “After spending the time to answer these questions I truly believe I am such a lucky kid that’s able to have all of these amazing experiences and opportunities. They always push me to do my best and are always there for me.”
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St. Rose, Belmar, field hockey coach Angela Teeple leaves nothing to the imagination when discussing senior Madison Mastrorilli’s value to her team.
“She controls our whole field and is an excellent captain,” Teeple said. “Maddie has no weaknesses and complements all our players.”
There are two factors for that – work and dedication.
“I spend so much [time] with the game of field hockey when I’m not playing (for St. Rose),” said Mastrorilli, who has practiced alone in her basement since ninth grade. In addition, she plays with her club team year-round and has competed in several out-of-state tournaments.
“Sometimes it can be stressful, but when I am very locked in, it is a way to calm myself down,” Mastrorilli said. “I truly love the sport. I coached the younger teams at Shore STX [club program] and helped them learn the basics as well as upgrading their skills. [STX] coach Katie [Sawicki] has really taught me everything I know and I hold her dear to my heart.”
That’s just one of Mastrorilli’s strong relationships. Another is with the Lord, as she regularly attends Mass in St. Catharine Parish in her hometown of Spring Lake.
“I lean on my faith both on and off of the field,” she said. “Without God, I don’t know what I would do because I come to him a lot and spend a lot of time talking to him.”
Maddie is a member of Catholic Athletes for Christ and thinks “it is such a great part of St. Rose.” She attends Mass inside the school chapel during her flex time and is a Eucharistic minister who helps out at her church and in school Masses. Another activity is teaching religious education to St. Catharine fourth-graders.
In short, field hockey is just a fraction of Mastrorilli’s contributions to St. Rose and beyond.
She serves as a school ambassador because “my parents, aunt and uncle, and my nana and her daughter and son went there too.” Her clubs include Lighthouse (a mental health club) and Surfrider (protecting beaches); and she was chosen as a freshman to join the newly formed Hope Squad (suicide prevention).
“You get picked by people who think you are someone easy to come to,” she explained. “and you would be there for [those in need] and help them get the right help that they need.”
As a member of the National Honor Society, Mastrorilli has a grade point average of 99 out of 100. And yet she still has time for field hockey, which is one of her great outlets.
Mastrorilli grew up playing basketball, lacrosse, tennis and swimming but fell in love with field hockey when she started at age eight. One day at St. Catharine School, her gym teacher handed her a flyer after class for the fledgling Shore STX field hockey clinic.
“I’d only heard of the sport because my sister started playing in high school but I had no idea what it was,” she said. “My mom signed me up for the first clinic.”
That’s all it took to hook Mastrorilli, who began playing for the Shore STX travel team. Her improvement was so rapid that early in her career an official approached Maddie’s mom to comment on how good she was.
“That gave me so much confidence,” said Mastrorilli, who played forward until this season. “I still remember that ref today. She still refs a lot of my games and always says hello.”
When Maddie got to St. Rose she played sparingly as a freshman and had two goals and two assists. As a sophomore starter she scored five goals, and last year tallied a team-high 12 goals and five assists.
When Teeple became the Purple Roses’ third coach in four years, she wanted to properly utilize Mastrorilli’s speed, stick skills and aggressiveness and moved her to midfield. Suddenly, Maddie was playing offense and defense.
“I wasn’t quite sure if I could do a good job, because midfield runs the whole field,” she said. “But I ended up loving it since I have to help both the back defenders and the high forwards.”
Mastrorilli has sacrificed her scoring somewhat this year and had five goals and five assists through St. Rose’s strong 7-3 start. Juniors Lucie Sgmmato and Fiona McKeon and freshman Emily Neuwirth have picked up the slack with a combined 24 goals.
Mastrorilli’s value goes way beyond her stats.
“I’m able to get the ball up the field faster and protect it from coming back down the field when we need to keep it in the circle,” she said. “Sometimes it can be really hard to just get it inside the circle and the other midfielders and I tend to do a good job at that. Whatever is best for the team is what I want to do. My teammates are the best and I love playing with them.”
Mastrorilli’s hockey aptitude and ability to see everything on the field have made her a natural fit at midfield.
“It is a very big awareness and instinct game,” she said. “You have to know how to read the field, because the ball can move so fast and if you’re two steps ahead, it just makes everything simpler.”
The talented player admitted that it has been “a rollercoaster” playing for so many coaches, but praised Teeple for having “such a heart for mental health and creating the best players out of us as she can. She has a great eye for field hockey.”
Mastrorilli hopes to continue her career with a club field hockey program in college. She is still sorting through her school choices and majors, trying to decide between nursing, speech pathology and early education.
Wherever she ends up, Mastrorilli realized who made it all possible as she was interviewed for this story.
“I really want to thank my parents for giving me all these opportunities,” she said. “After spending the time to answer these questions I truly believe I am such a lucky kid that’s able to have all of these amazing experiences and opportunities. They always push me to do my best and are always there for me.”