This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
09/14/2020 12:00 AMFall sports teams in the state of Connecticut have dealt with cancellations, shutdowns, and alterations of practice rules due to COVID-19—and the Branford field hockey team is no different. While the Hornets are practicing with restrictions and awaiting word on a potential schedule, Head Coach Pete Frye is trying to look at the bright side off an offseason filled with gray areas.
Prior to recently starting practice, the Hornets had been hosting video chats over Zoom throughout the past few months. Rather than talking strategy, Coach Frye wanted to make sure that his athletes stayed connected and that everyone knew they could rely on each other during questionable times.
“As bad as it has been for everybody, there has been some good to come out of it. You don’t realize how important being on a team is until something like this hits,” said Frye. “It’s great to win some field hockey games, but the goal is to have the girls leave the program as strong, independent women, leave the program and be successful in business or family or whatever. This has allowed them to realize it. When we were thrown into this position, we were all in this limbo of what’s the next step? It allowed us to draw on the girl’s strengths.”
During those team meetings, the Hornets welcomed 14 freshmen who are joining the program this year. While team meetings didn’t always include the freshmen in previous years, Coach Frye wanted the newest Hornets to know that they have a support system.
“The kids have learned to value their time together, because it really can be taken away from you,” Frye said. “It has given my sophomores and freshmen a maturity that is beyond their years. They’ve been forced to live this.”
Branford started three first-year players in its Class M state semifinal matchup against Guilford last season. Now heading into a new year, Coach Frye expects 70 percent of his roster to be made up of first- and second-year players. One plus, however, is that many of those second-year players have varsity experience.
When it comes to senior leadership, Branford will be led by its captains, who are forward Andrea Amarante and defender Alisa Gueco. Both captains are the only seniors on this year’s team and worked with Frye when he was head coach of the field hockey squad at Walsh Intermediate School prior to taking the helm with the Hornets two years ago.
“I’m lucky that I was coach of the middle school and then I moved over to high school. I’ve had the benefit of coaching Alisa and Andrea three years at the middle school and three years at the high school,” said Frye said. “They know me very well, I know them very well. It’s very easy for us to work together after spending so much time together.”
In Branford’s junior class, Coach Frye is expecting forward/midfielder Nora Longway, defender Katie Laska, forward Julia McHenry, and goalie Nina Shamas to all have solid seasons. McHenry has been a starter since her freshman year, while Laska started numerous games down the stretch for Branford last fall. Frye added that Longway scored some key goals for Branford last season, and that Shamas had made some impressive strides in net.
Branford’s junior class also includes forwards Ava Brunner, Cat Brown, and Liv Salerno.
When it comes to the sophomore class, Coach Frye is looking for a big year from forward Scout Engstrom, who was a top-10 scorer in the Southern Connecticut Conference in 2019; as well as midfielder/defender Gianna Bozzi, defender Aryana Wilson, and midfielder Lauren Kendrick. All four athletes played major minutes during the Hornets’ state tourney run last year.
Branford’s other returning sophomores are Lauren McCarthy and Melanie Wagner, who each play midfield and defense; along with forwards Lizzie Axtell and Gianna Bonanno and defender Gabrielle Morrotti.
After only seeing each other via video chat in recent weeks, the Hornets took the field on Aug. 29, following the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s (CIAC) announcement that teams could start participating in non-contact sport-specific skillwork. Coach Frye said that it’s been wonderful for everyone to finally see each other face to face.
Branford’s practice sessions are split up into cohorts of 10 people or less for one hour with 30 minutes of conditioning and 30 minutes of skillwork. While Frye knows that isn’t an ideal format, he does feel that the smaller groups have allowed the coaches to relay messages to their younger players more easily. Frye said that with every practice, the Hornets are staying “cautiously optimistic” that there will be another practice the next day.
Despite all of the uncertainties, Coach Frye is still expecting the Branford field hockey team to be competitive in 2020. If the Hornets are ultimately able to play, Coach Frye wants them to a club that their opponents respect.
“When we get hopefully to the end of the season and we get to this postseason experience, hopefully, everybody is looking at the bracket and says, ‘We have to play Branford. That’s going to be a dogfight,’” Frye said. “We come together at the end of the season like last year as that team nobody wants to play.”