By Paul Silverfarb
Sentinel Editor
The Greenwich Academy field hockey team has been on a roll this season. Led by a stingy defense and two solid goalies, the Gators are undefeated heading into Saturday’s game against crosstown rival Sacred Heart Greenwich.
“I think we are coming along nicely,” Brower said. “We’ve been playing pretty well. Every game, regardless of the score, we find something that we need to continue to work on and prepare for the next opponent. The weather is finally getting nice and cool, so hopefully the heat won’t be a factor. On the whole, we have been improving steadily and that’s good.”
One of the keys to Greenwich Academy’s success this season has been its defense. To say that it’s lights out is an understatement. On Oct. 14, the Gators upended a tough Tabor Academy squad 4-1. That game was the first time all season that the opposition has found the back of the net against GA.
In nine games played as of press time, Greenwich Academy has given up only one goal.
Coming into the season with a defense that wasn’t as experienced as Brower would like, the head coach wasn’t sure what was going to happen to the defense. They lost both of their side backs to graduation, Anna Khoury and Ellie Laughton, so Brower knew this year’s defense would be younger than usual.
However, so far so good for GA.
“Luckily we have Maya [Walker] still back there and have two excellent goalkeepers,” Brower said. “The side backs that have been playing so far, Sophie Freedman and Antonia Packard, have really jumped right in. They are studying the game at practice and understand strategies more. Their skills are getting more consistent. To have Maya in the middle directing them is great. Maggie [Reville] and Isabella [Santucci] in goal is great. You can’t get a better goalkeeping situation than that. We are so lucky to have those two goalies on our team.”
Both Reville and Santucci playing two different styles of goalkeeping when between the pipes, but Brower said both are very effective at keeping the ball out of the net.
“Maggie picks her moments to be aggressive and she tends to be more aggressive and that really works for her,” Brower said. “Isabella is technically a stronger goal keeper. What they both have as a strength is that they are both great communicators with their defense. They communicate, they talk and they tell people where to be. They understand what we are trying to do as a defense. When you get the goalies and defense on the same page, you’re talking about some nice, seamless play. We have had to work really hard with the defense and the girls should be given a lot of credit for how hard they have worked to get the defense to where it is today.”
When it comes to the offensive side of the ball, Greenwich Academy has been nothing short of consistent. In the nine victories, the Gators have scored five goals against seven opponents. (King School, Choate Rosemary Hall, Berkshire School, St. Luke’s School, Hopkins School, Rye Country Day School, Greens Farms Academy). In the other two games, Tabor Academy and Taft School, GA’s offense put up four goals each.
Brower says that offensively the team has been working on its chemistry throughout the season.
“The offense has been getting stronger and stronger every day,” Brower said. The second goal against Tabor was beautiful. It was a beautiful passing pattern that involved the entire forward line, as well as the mids. It was a gorgeous field hockey play. I think we are looking for more things like that, more playing off of each other. As far as the number we get to, we’re practicing getting the job done. After we are done with what we need to, we need to stay disciplined and keep them out of our circle and not give up any corners. There’s always a focus during the game, depending on what part of the game it is.”
When it comes to Greenwich Academy’s offense, Brower said that it’s truly a team approach. The foursome of Karina Schulze, Caroline Hughes, Sofi Viola and Grace Schulze have each found their way to logging some key goals for the Gators this season.
“They are all stepping up and doing their part and that’s why it’s working so well together,” Brower said. “They are all strong players, but the strength they bring compliment nicely to the other forwards on the line. Sophie is incredibly tenacious and scrappy and has no problem throwing her body in front of the ball. Karina is a poised and skilled player in the center and really sets up a lot of the plays that happen.
“Caroline has gotten so good over the past three years at reading the space up front and looking for those holes to get the free hits through to her,” added Brower. “She’s really become an effective forward. This is Grace’s second year on the team and she has really become comfortable carrying the ball down the sideline. She’s really shown improvement on her 1-on-1 elimination skills. She’s also tenacious and feisty.”
And Brower is going to need all sides of the ball to step up its game throughout the remainder of the schedule. Tomorrow the Gators host Sacred Heart Greenwich, another team that has high hopes of capturing an Fairchester Athletic Association championship.
“We know that Sacred Heart has had a really great season so far,” Brower said. “The coaches have done a really great job with that team. We are going to have to be on our best. Because it’s such a great rivalry, keeping the mental piece of the game is going to play an important part. We need to keep all the emotions in check and play with discipline. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I am looking forward to the game and I think the kids are as well.”
And it doesn’t get any easier for Greenwich Academy after its battle with the Tigers. Wednesday starts a three-game road trip that begins with Loomis Chaffee School. On Oct. 28 the Gators travel to Westminster School and on Nov. 2 they square off against Hotchkiss School before returning home for the regular season finale on Nov. 5 against Deerfield Academy.
“The end of the schedule this year is very stacked,” Brower said. “We have a lot of very challenging games coming up. This is really the last week where we have a couple of days in a row of practice that we can work them hard one day and then focus on the skills and strategy the next day. We’re going to have back-to-back-to-back challenging games. Hopefully we are going to keep going upward in our play and keep improving every day. We are going to have to if we want to end the season the way we want to.”
