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05/03/2015 12:00 AMOld Saybrook girls’ lacrosse finished last year undefeated in the regular season and was then handed a tough defeat in the second round of the Class S State Tournament. A loss to Weston in the second game of 2015 gave the Rams insight into how they can learn from a defeat sooner as opposed to later.
“There’s always a waking point in where you got to work harder, got to work on the little things all the time and not just the big things,” said Old Saybrook Coach Al Mortali. “The little things really make a team come together and make it work.”
Following that loss on April 14, Old Saybrook did both the big and little things well to win five games in a row entering its home contest against Shoreline Conference opponent Morgan, a team coming off a 17-13 overtime-thrilling victory over North Branford two days earlier, on April 30. The Rams jumped to an early lead with two goals in 20 seconds and never looked back as they defeated the Huskies 16-7 for their sixth-consecutive victory. Old Saybrook would later pounce on Waterford to win 16-2 on May 2 for seven-straight wins.
For Old Saybrook (8-1, 4-0), senior captain midfielder Molly Beck set the tone by winning the opening face-off, driving to the opposing goal, and scoring just 10 seconds in. Beck repeated the feat by claiming the ball off the next face-off, running past the defenders, and scoring in 10 seconds again for a fast 2-0 lead.
“You never know. You just never know [that we’ll be up so quick]” said Old Saybrook Coach Al Mortali. “Sometimes, we get the ball and Molly gets it and she just blasts it in and scores really quickly. She’s got good speed.”
The Huskies (3-4, 1-3) retaliated with a quick strike of their own two minutes later when senior Olivia Giannotti netted a goal to cut the deficit to one. Morgan’s offense was then held scoreless for awhile due to strong defensive play by Old Saybrook that prevented any chances for the opposition to strike.
“Our defense played very well and seemed to pass the ball really well. I thought that was really good,” said Mortali. “Passing and catching and then they opened up and made some good shots and I thought everyone played well. Offense played well, defense played well, they talked. Defense especially played very well.”
The defensive stops by Rams’ sophomore goalie Riley Roarick, who made all of her five saves in the first half, plus their solid man-on defense, had Old Saybrook often possessing the ball.
“Our goalie is insane. She’s done well for us,” said Beck. “Our defense is really improving drastically.”
The Rams countered Morgan’s first goal with a strike as Beck added a goal with 18:44 left in the half. After that, Old Saybrook continued to pounce with four unanswered goals on two apiece scored by junior attack Anna Chupak and sophomore attack Kendall Hartt to lead 6-1 with 11:22 left.
Morgan broke its scoring drought and converted a goal by junior Catlen Goss to trail 6-2 at the 9:31 mark. Old Saybrook then went loose for six-straight goals with Hartt, senior captain attack Gabby Rose, junior midfielder Paige Gumkowski (twice), senior attack Danielle Spots, and senior captain Hudson Roarick all scoring to give the Rams a 12-2 lead at the half.
Beck completed her scoring surge by winning the opening second half face-off and getting one in the net just nine seconds in for a 13-2 lead. Junior attack Madison Hartt, Rose, and junior attack Jill Murphy each added a goal in the second half to close out the Rams’ scoring total at 16.
Beck (2 assists) and Hudson Roarick both showed their leadership on the field, which was something that pleased Coach Mortali.
“They communicated just like what we do in practice. They put it into good use right here in the field,” he said. “And these two guys [Beck and Hudson Roarick], these two guys are like the rocks on this team. They just hold it together. We can count on these guys any time. If there was a war and if I needed two people, these are the two I would take with me.”
The Rams have won all four home games this spring and look to keep building upon that streak.
“I think we’re just going game by game now,” said Beck. “We’re not really thinking about the future. We’re thinking about tournament time, trying to prepare and go every day game by game.”
With its strong defensive play, Old Saybrook is clicking as a cohesive unit. The power of togetherness, effort, and patience is starting to reward the Rams.
“We’re working on our dynamics. We’ve all played together for a while and we’ve just been improving on our game. We keep working to get better,” said Hudson Roarick.
Morgan did not go down without a fight in the second half. Senior captain attack Riley Musial, senior Charlotte Limonsani (twice), Goss, and senior midfielder Jamie Naccarato each scored for the Huskies.
“These girls played a tough game and they came up short. Old Saybrook, they overplayed us and played a great game,” said Morgan Head Coach Lindsey Carroll, whose team lost to Ellington 18-14 on May 2.
The Rams and Huskies will meet again on Thursday, May 7 at Morgan’s home turf at the Indian River Complex. Old Saybrook looks to keep its efficient offensive attack strong and improve on even more of the little things for the rematch, as well as the rest of the campaign.
“Well, they know who our scorers are, but that can mean that other people will step up,” said Beck. “Maybe transition a little better as well in our passing, but defense was good, though. Other than that, it’s just game by game.”
Coach Mortali also pointed out that the intensity of the team’s practices has translated into each game with his club showing plenty of confidence, valor, and heart. These are some of the key qualities that gives Mortali’s club a fighting chance at making a run in states.
“They got to love the game and just do their best; that’s all that I ask from them,” said Mortali. “You give a 100 percent all the time, even in practice. We even preach that. Whatever you’re going to do out here, in practice you going to do it in the game. That’s what we’ve been working on and, hopefully, it’ll pay off and we’ll make it to the states and we’ll go on. We’ll see what we can do this year. That’s the plan. Game by game.”