By Mike Rubin

The Somerville-Cambridge girls hockey team have their eyes on the state tournament.

Leading the way will be junior forward Rachel Cooper, who’s slated to emerge on the team’s top line while freshman defensive Hagerty, also of Somerville, will look to build on last year’s promising season.

“(Cooper) is a very good player and very smart,” said coach Kevin Mitrano, who’s now heading the program in his 10th season. She’s a great all around player, and is solid. (Hagerty) is also a really strong defender, and she’s really physical. She’s almost like an offensive defender, where she likes to rush the puck up the zone, and create scoring chances. It could be a real breakout season for (Hagerty), and she’s a leader on the team.”

While the Somerville-Cambridge squad struggled to a 2-15-1 mark last year, there is hope and optimism surrounding the program in regards to qualifying for the tournament, a feat that the squad hasn’t reached since 2003.

“The girls are very confident right now, and we have the personnel as well as the schedule that gives us a chance of qualifying for the state tournament,” said Mitrano. “We’re still working tings out and we have a great group of young players, who are skilled and that’s something that we really haven’t had in a while.”

Despite a solid effort, the Falcons suffered a tough season-opening 7-2 to defeat to arch rivals Medford.

Leading the way for the Mustangs was Jennifer White, Brittany Lanzili and Kristina Bove, all of whom had a hand in the scoring, accounting for four goals and eight assists.

In the first period, the Mustangs grabbed a 3-0 lead led by Lanzilli, who recorded one goal and three assists during that span.

Battling back, Somerville-Cambridge closed the gap and capitalized on a power play goal by Katy Bayly, trimming the lead to 3-1 midway through the second period.

“We started pressuring a bit,” said Mitrano. “We made some adjustments and we made a run at it, but (Medford) is a strong team, and they have a great scoring line. Unfortunately, we couldn’t maintain that level of intensity.”

In just 37 seconds, the tides would turn against Somerville-Cambridge as the Mustangs erupted for a pair of goals while grabbing a commanding 5-1 through the end of the second period.