The start of the season has been quite the learning experience for the Greenwich Academy lacrosse team. The nerves of stepping onto the field for the first time since the 2019 season are starting to pass and the confidence in themselves is quickly advancing.
And that combination is going to make for a long day for the teams that the Gators are going to face for the rest of the season.
Although GA has been hard at work getting things ironed out in practice and during games, head coach Melissa Anderson said they are also just enjoying each other’s company and reconnecting as a team.
“The first game we played was against New Canaan and I think both teams were basically pirouetting out on the field,” said Anderson. “There has been just such a great energy on the team starting the first practice of the season. If there’s one thing the kids have been missing this year is that opportunity to feel hopeful and to count on something. This year’s seniors have had a lot taken away from them, so being able to restart the season and to provide that has been the biggest win of the spring.”
Anderson said that the expectations the team is setting have been interesting, saying that she thinks it’s important for the kids to feel like it’s a normal practice and feel some intensity from the coaching staff about expecting their best. But on the other hand, Anderson thinks the coaching staff has to make a lot of room for where the athletes are emotionally and make sure they are rebuilding their confidence.
And so far this season Greenwich Academy has had some stellar practices, but they have almost been too serious, according to the head coach.
“Our practices are the same this year as other years and our attitudes towards coaching have been the same, but I think the kids are carrying a much bigger weight this season,” Anderson said. “There’s the feeling of loss for last year and there might even be a lack of confidence or a lot of pressure on themselves to perform. We are trying to soften that for them because when they have fun, they play their best. The coaches are trying to remind them of the joyful aspects of the game. It’s all about balancing the competitive aspirations with having fun.”
Although the Gators last played competitive lacrosse in 2019, the schedule this year has been just as challenging, if not more challenging, as other seasons. They started the season with two games against New Canaan and Wilton high schools, two perennial powers from the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference. They also played games against Agnes Irwin and will face off against FCIAC foes in Darien and Ridgefield high schools, as well as Deerfield Academy, Lawrenceville School, and cross-town rival Sacred Heart Greenwich.
“That’s what we want,” Anderson said. “We want this as competitive as we can make it. Interestingly, our most competitive season would have been last year in the sense that we build the schedule to be the most competitive as possible. Thanks to that, we were able to carry some of those games over to this season. It’s also such a blessing that there are so many competitive teams nearby.”
And when the Gators came out to start their season against the Rams and Warriors, there was cause for concern for Anderson. The head coach said that the first minute the team stepped on the field against the New Canaan, it was like they never played before.
“Kids were looking around and it was almost felt like a new world in a sense,” Anderson said. “By the end of the game, we were a different team. Against Wilton, we really had trouble bringing our offensive game to them and, to their credit, they played a great one. It really revealed that we have some rebuilding to do with our offensive transition. I would always take a more competitive game that makes us learn what we need to fix.”
And the competition didn’t get any easier for the Gators. On April 17, Greenwich Academy traveled down to battle both Episcopal Academy and Agnes Irwin, two schools separated by only 15 minutes. In the morning game, it was GA that got the better of Episcopal, winning 11-9. The afternoon contact saw a tired Greenwich Academy squad fall to Agnes Irwin 11-7.
“We knew the games would be a challenge,” Anderson said. “We keep a pretty short roster. For us, managing their energy and fatigue is a huge component. Against Episcopal, I don’t think we played our best but we were able to pull it out against a very good team for our first win. Watching them win was such a good feeling. We then went to Agnes Irwin and they are a really tough team. We started out strong against them and it was almost like the third half of the Episcopal game where we started the half strong and had all our pieces working. However, fatigue played a factor in the end I think. Agnes Irwin is a really fast team and had some great tools in their tool belt.”
For GA to be successful this season, they are going to rely on their composure and consistently being intense. In their first games against Wilton and New Canaan, the Gators had a plethora of turnovers than usual.
“I don’t think it’s a skill-based challenge for us,” Anderson said. “That’s a composure-based challenge. We can practice all we want, but under pressure the kids are putting pressure on themselves that we are trying to detangle a little. They are rushing decisions and forcing things. We are reminding them how to stay composed under pressure. When they lose their composure, they get a little more passive and not going after stuff.”
For the Gators, the team will be paced by its defense.
Although sophomore Rebecca Arpano is new to the team, she’s stepped up in a big way for GA between the pipes and has been improving her game after every practice. In front of Arpano at defense will be seniors Lila Murray, Alessia Packard, and sophomore Ellie Johnson. All three are returning players and were in the program the last time they stepped on the field back in 2019.
Helping the defensive trio will be senior Georgia Gallagher and standout freshman Molly Moore. Anderson expects both to see a lot of playing time in some big game situations.
“The defense is all going to return and they are bringing back a lot of experience and chemistry,” Anderson said. “That’s great to have that at defense, especially since they will be able to help out our new goalie. The five defenders will rotate and see the majority of the time.”
Greenwich Academy’s midfielders are just as talented, led by senior captains Margaret Maruszewski and Paige Lipman. Both athletes will contribute a lot to the offensive side of the ball. Juniors Ava Butz and Taylor Glanville will contribute at midfield as well, while sophomores Ellie Burdick and Sienna Tejpaul will also be playing some high-quality minutes for the Gators.
At the attack, Greenwich will be paced by seniors Rachel Rogers and Brecon Welch. Joining in will be senior Georgia Gallagher, juniors Maddie Holden and Emily Greenhaw, sophomore Mimi Novak, and freshman Dylan Casazza.
“We have a lot of great talent and I really don’t want one or two players carrying the responsibility for the offense,” Anderson said. “We are working on some offenses where the ball is getting distributed a lot. We like to make sure the athletes can play a couple of positions. We are pushing kids around from middle to attack and back up. They are looking really good so far, which is great.”
