Field hockey at Walpole High School has a long, strange tradition of winning that every player who puts on the uniform reveres and hopes to continue.

The winning is straightforward enough: The team has racked up 11 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association state titles since 1984.

The strange part is the nickname — the Porkers — one unique to the school’s field hockey program. It actually dates to 1968, when the name assigned the team by coaches at a summer camp was embraced after the squad starting playing well.

This year’s team, made up of all but two of the same starters from the 2015 outfit that fell in the state semifinals to champion Acton-Boxborough, hopes that its tournament experience will help it go all the way.

Melanie Weber, who earned Bay State Herget MVP honors last season on a balanced diet of 13 goals and 17 assists, was a member of the last such Walpole championship squad, the 2013 edition that defeated Longmeadow High, 1-0, to bring Coach Marianne Murphy her third title in 9 years.

Weber earned a place in the starting lineup as a freshman, a rare occurrence in the program. There’s not a single freshman on this year’s roster.

Now, with her final season underway, it’s the senior captain’s turn to lead.

“That [2013] team worked hard each and every practice,’’ said Weber, who has committed to Northeastern University. “Winning the state title — we really deserved it there. So this team is trying to work just as hard.’’

Entering her 15th year as head coach, Murphy enjoys a roster that’s as strong as ever. The Porkers have 7 returning seniors, including Weber and captains Sophia Giovaniello and Megan Fisher. Weber, Giovaniello, and junior Celia Walsh were all league all-stars last season.

Still, Murphy knows the team has a long way to go before it can leave its mark on the proud program’s history.

Through the first few weeks of practice, she’s emphasized defense, holding every individual accountable for marking a player to defend against and sagging off when appropriate to cut off passing lanes.

To the team, it’s all about commitment to one side of the ball — offense or defense — and trust and communication between teammates.

In their season opener at Wellesley Sept 9, the Porkers proved they possess all three.

After squandering a couple opportunities playing the ball in short from the end line and allowing Wellesley to walk the ball in for a goal in the opening minutes, the Porkers needed to snap out of what almost seemed a heat-induced daze.

With 16:41 left in the first half, Weber did what MVPs do, evading a pair of defenders and sliding home an unassisted goal.

“That quick goal after their goal stopped their momentum,’’ said Giovaniello of Weber’s strike.

Gioveniello was on the receiving end of senior Abby O’Sullivan’s second assist of the afternoon with 11 ticks to go in the first. O’Sullivan’s first was a pass through the crowded striking circle comfortably finished by junior Alex Rodia just a few minutes earlier.

Junior Christine Murray fed Weber for her second goal of the afternoon with 23:20 left in the second, and the Porkers held on to their lead thanks to strong defensive efforts put out by Giovaniello and Fisher.

“What I liked,’’ said Murphy of the 4-1 victory, “is they put the first goal in on us because we were playing sloppy, and then we came back. That’s what you have to do. You can’t let it get you down.’’

While Murphy guides Walpole with an experienced hand, the field hockey team at Oliver Ames is under new leadership.

Abigail Tepper of Foxborough is settling into her first head coach position after graduating from Salve Regina University in Rhode Island in the spring, where she was a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference All-Academic Team.

Tepper was handed the reigns in late July, and is tryinmg to find a balance between her new ideas for the program and the already established styles of her 10 seniors.

Utilizing a formation with a “diamond in the middle’’ — a low and high central midfielder complemented by left and right midfielders on the flanks — Tepper used the preseason scrimmages to evaluate her players’ skill sets, “switching them around to see what clicked.’’

For now, she’s established senior Dimitra Efremidis as the low central midfielder — “the quarterback position,’’ said Tepper — and has put her senior captains, Kendall Clifford and Katherine Davenport, at right mid and center back respectively. Star goalie Katherine Vamosi remains between the posts.

“Everything she’s done,’’ said Davenport of the new coach, “has helped us get better, and as a team we’re building chemistry because of the way she runs practices.’’

Those practices climax with high-energy chants in which Tepper happily participates.

The Tigers are off to a good start, winning their first 2 games with 7-1 goal differential.

For now, Tepper’s taking it a game at a time, paying attention to the details. Last Sunday, she moved the team from its usual turf practice field.

“I had the girls play on grass today,’’ she said, “because we’re playing at Sharon tomorrow’’ on grass.

Sam Boyles can be reached at samuel.boyles@globe.com.