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WINTHROP — Being at Charlie’s Field in the middle of the night isn’t new. The circumstances to which Winthrop field hockey and football return, though? That’s a different story.

The Winthrop teams that practiced at midnight the first day of fall sports practices last year were nearly identical to their 2023 versions. When both squads began fall practices Monday at 12 a.m., many key faces from 2024 were absent.

Nevertheless, the expectations haven’t changed for either Winthrop team. There are still pieces back for the Ramblers, who believe they can repeat the remarkable seasons they both enjoyed last year.

“We still have that goal (of a state championship),” said Winthrop field hockey coach Melissa Perkins. “That’s always definitely the goal, to play for the championship. … Even if we did graduate some hefty seniors, we have a great group here; there’s not one player on the roster who can’t step on the field.”

The Winthrop field hockey team has enjoyed a run of dominance. The Ramblers have won seven straight regional titles and four consecutive Class C titles. Winthrop’s run is tied with Dexter (2000-03) and Skowhegan (2010-13) for the second-longest state title streak behind Skowhegan’s eight in a row from 2001-08.

This year, though, Winthrop is without a key piece from its recent run: Madeline Wagner. Now playing at Merrimack College, Wagner finished her career as Maine high school field hockey’s No. 2 all-time goal scorer with 138. Replacing that production is a challenge.

“She obviously was one of our key players on our team, with communication, passing and all the goals we scored, she was always there for them,” said senior centerback Emily Kempton. “It’s kind of like we’ve had a missing spot, but the girls have slowly filled it in, especially on offense.”

Sophomore Evelyn Mortimer, Perkins said, has been one of those players, sliding nicely into Wagner’s role. Sophie Shuman, who scored for the Ramblers in the state championship game against Dexter last year, and sophomore Natalie Irwin also aid Winthrop up front.

Winthrop takes other hits in the midfield with the graduation of Sienna Beauchesne, Caroline Corgan and Lauren Miller, but returns Piper Clark, Liv Huri and Kylee Mansir. Huri’s presence in the midfield also provides a backbone for the Ramblers defensively, as does Kempton, now a four-year starter.

“This is just such a gritty, cohesive team that has me really excited for the season,” Perkins said. “They play as a team through and through, and we have a pretty tough defense that I think is going to be difficult for a lot of the teams that come to see us.”

While Winthrop field hockey was practicing in the south end of Charlie’s Field, the north side belonged to the football team. The Ramblers returned 10 of 11 starters on both offense and defense last year, and finished 8-2, reaching the Class D South final. This year, Winthrop returns just three players on offense and eight on defense. 

The biggest hole for Winthrop is in the backfield, where they must replace Cody Cobb (847 rush yards, 19 touchdowns) and Carter Rivers (1,229 yards, seven touchdowns). Lineman Brock Dewar, and receivers Brody Adams and Ben Porter are the only players back for the Ramblers on offense.

Defensively, Cobb (73 solo tackles, 56 assisted) is a huge loss at linebacker, but Dewar (38 solo, 32 assisted, 14 tackles for loss) is back as a strong leader of that unit. The Ramblers are loaded on the interior line, with Glaia Ngongo and Isaiah Trott, while Porter (60 solo, 22 assisted, three interceptions) leads the secondary.

“We’re losing some guys, but I think there’s a lot of guys on this year’s team that are ready to step up,” Dewar said. “We’re kind of a ruthless team on defense, and we’ll hit you over and over again. … I think there’s a lot of potential for this team.”

Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton has full confidence that this year’s junior and senior classes will make their mark. Though less experienced at the varsity level, those classes went undefeated during their time in middle school. Stoneton said that this year’s players often gave Winthrop’s seniors a tougher challenge in practices than they faced on game days.

“Those guys that are stepping in were playing those varsity guys last year, those look-team guys were sometimes better than the teams we were playing,” Stoneton said. “We were getting better and better in practice every day. You want those guys who come in and don’t skip a beat, and that’s what we’ve got.”