Through its first eight games of the season, the Barnegat field hockey team was staring at the possibility of not making the state tournament. But during the last three weeks of the regular season, the Bengals strung together seven straight victories as it qualified and cleared the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament.

“We learned this season that no matter what happens, we can always come back the next day and keep fighting,” said senior goaltender Emalie Menegus, who managed six…