When the field hockey season started a couple of weeks ago, new Barnegat head coach Jaime DiStefano was confident about her Bengals.

“We’re expecting to make a statement in our division this season,” she said at the time. “We have a junior-heavy team with a lot of history and chemistry when it comes to playing together. We have some players to watch.”

DiStefano had reason to be confident, given the fact her squad was returning all its players from last year’s 7-12 team, including a solid core of…