By Paul Silverfarb
Sentinel Editor
With roster full of both experienced lacrosse players and talented younger athletes, Greenwich Academy is determined once again to keep the Fairchester Athletic Association trophy on the North Maple Avenue campus.
“I think it’s always good to go into a season a little hungry,” said head coach Melissa Anderson. “Every season is different, but what’s really exciting about the FAA is that a lot of teams have strengths and you never know who is coming into their programs, just as we are trying to figure out who we got and what we are doing. We try not to think a whole lot about everybody else and just think about how to make ourselves the best that we can be.”
Last year, with a relatively young roster, the Gators dominated the competition and finished with a 14-1 overall record. In addition to the solid record, GA also picked up its 30th FAA championship trophy by upending FAA rival Sacred Heart Greenwich, 11-5, in the title game.
“We all know each other really well and know what we can do like it’s the back of our hand because we all played together last season,” GA senior co-captain Anna Khoury said. “We know where to play, the things we run, how they are run and where to be at what time. The new people are adjusting really well to that.”
Last year, the Gators lost only one athlete to graduation, as Charlie Johnson finished out her career at Greenwich Academy. Although GA lost one athlete from last year’s team, Anderson believes that Johnson was a huge reason why they picked up the FAA championship.
“We are really going to miss Charlie Johnson,” Anderson said. “She was a critical part of our defense last year. She played a really interesting role because she covered a lot of ground for us in the backfield. For us, replacing that is about finding communication and finding some trust among the new core group.”
This year the Gators have two captains, seniors Tate Horowitz and Khoury.
“It feels really good to lead the team,” Horowitz said. “It’s a lot of fun to be able to lead the team and a lot of responsibility as well. I need to be able to motivate people because every game is such a big game for us. It seems like we are always the team that our opponents want to beat. We also have a lot of expectations this year because of how we won FAA’s last year. We need to make sure we all work hard every day.”
Anderson believes both will be solid leaders on the field, as Horowitz plays defense and Khoury, who was a captain last year as well, plays the attack.
“Both of them tend to lead by example,” Anderson said. “Neither one of them are shouters, but they choose their words very carefully. They are positive and they are kids that the team will really lean on in terms of trust and communication.”
With the majority of the roster back from last year’s squad, GA knows that the experience playing a tough varsity schedule last year only helped the Gators prep for this season.
Returning between the pipes for GA is junior Maggie Reville.
“I love talking about Maggie because of how fantastic she is for us,” Anderson said. “Watching her grow over the past three years has been a real pleasure because I think she’s getting increasingly confident, not only with her voice and her saves, but also her willingness to step out and play a bigger role than just in the crease.”
Backing up Reville this year will be an experienced defense. In addition to Horowitz, the core group will consist of sophomore Claire Aube and seniors Mia Nixon and Caroline Keller. Supporting them will be junior Emmeline Kelley and freshmen Binney Huffman and Catie Duggan.
Greenwich Academy’s midfield will also be playing some key roles on the defense. Leading the way on the midfield will be senior Whitney Balanoff and junior Karina Schulze, both returning from last year’s FAA-championship squad. Helping out the duo at midfield will be freshmen Taylor Lane, Tessa Brooks and Grace Schulze and sophomores Leila Schneider and Kate Morton.
“We want to see something from everybody,” Anderson said. “The new rule change, which penalizes defenders from sagging too much basically, means that we can’t sag that much. I think a lot of teams are wrestling with this right now. So we are trying to train them to be very agile, making sure they are pressing out and taking calculated risks. We’ve been working a lot of vision and slides and help and double teams. The unit defense is actually more important than any individual.”
Khoury will be the team’s vocal leader on the attack and will most likely see a majority of the action. However, several other returners are primed to make some noise this year, as senior Chapin Ruffa and juniors Courtney DeNaut and Holly Johnson, will be building off last year’s success.
“I really like our offensive transition,” Khoury said. “We are really good at moving the ball where it needs to be. Our fast passes are strong and the defense is coming along really well. I would like to see us improve this season on getting the ball back after we let up a shot and they get a clear.”
In addition, other attackers like Morton, sophomore Haley Aube, and freshmen Eliza Bowman and Katie Goldsmith, are needed to step up their game.
“I think we should have some versatility there,” Anderson said. “What I liked about last year’s season was that we didn’t really have that one person that we had to go to. We had threats in a lot of different places and we try not to lean on just one person. We really need that versatility and that really serves us well in a very competitive game with good defense. Hopefully we will have more of the same this year.”
“We have a lot of returners back, but we also have a good number of new freshmen, so the returners are able to help them transition,” Horowitz said. “I hope we all come to practice every day and work really hard. We know the things that we need to work on, so we need to keep improving and hopefully win the FAA title.”
In addition to the team’s ability to have a different player lead the scoring on any given day, Anderson believes that having assisted goals will be another key to the team’s success this season.
While the Gators are determined to defend its FAA championship this season, the GA head coach wants to see her squad build its chemistry.
“I want them to remember that how we do as a team will depend much more on our chemistry and trust than the performance of any one person,” Anderson said. “With a young team, we have seven new players in the group, teaching them that is a big picture goal that is hard for younger players to know. I expect the experienced players to help those younger players understand.”
