This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
05/17/2021 12:00 AMThe Old Saybrook girls’ lacrosse squad has been on a tear this season. The Rams were owners of an undefeated record at 9-0 after last week’s action. Head Coach Dick Shriver’s squad has been running roughshod all over the Shoreline Conference this spring, and while the Rams stay focused on the game in front of them, they surely will be a favorite to claim some postseason glory at the end of the campaign.
Old Saybrook played just one game against Cromwell last week. On May 13, the Rams headed to Cromwell and claimed a 19-6 road victory over the Panthers in a dominating fashion.
Cromwell has a budding program that only got started a few short years ago, and there was no spring season last year on top due to COVID-19. Still, Coach Shriver was impressed with his team’s ability to stay focused against an inexperienced opponent.
“We work on keeping that focus against teams. In the game with tougher opponents, we won’t have many substitutions. It depends,” said Shriver. “Against Cromwell, we didn’t have a junior varsity game, but we were able to play everyone in the varsity game. It’s great for morale.”
Old Saybrook saw a wide array of players make a mark on the score sheet against the Panthers. Junior Lily Cody put five goals in the net and dished four assists in the win. Sophomore Laura Day also tallied five goals and five assists, while junior Grace Adams provided four goals and a pair of assists in the victory. Senior captain midfielder Gilly Hartt scored three goals, junior Chelsea Heinke added a pair of scores, and freshman Amelia Sigersmith supplied an assist. Junior goalie Sam Wakelee made eight saves in net.
Coach Shriver believes that his team has been so successful in part due to the leadership of the team’s senior captains, Hartt and Bridget Kawecki. The captains have brought energy to the Rams and have served as motivational figures for the squad. Hartt has tallied 29 goals and seven assists so far on the season.
“Gilly Hartt is the center midfielder and does the draws. She’s been a bit injured, and being at the center draw, that’s particularly stressful so we’re easing her back in. Bridget Kawecki’s the lead defense player. She’s the leader back there,” said Shriver. “Both of them are exceptional leaders. They are good leaders by example on the field as motivators of the players and as sportsman. They definitely have equal amounts of leadership capabilities and talent.”
One of the biggest reasons for Old Saybrook’s dominating efforts on the field night in and night out has to be Cody. The junior leads the Rams in both goals and assists with 50 and 21, respectively. Coach Shriver often marvels at what Cody is able to accomplish on the field alongside her fellow midfielders sophomore Laura Day and Hartt.
“Lily’s an exceptional athlete. I’m not familiar with her prowess in soccer. I know she’s very good there, as well, but it’s almost like lacrosse was invented for her,” Shriver said. “A lot of players are fast, and a lot of players are quick. Lily is both fast and agile. At the moment of truth, she can fake one way and shoot another. She also has good company in Laura Day and Gilly Hartt in the midfield.”
The Rams also have their fair share of veterans who can keep a cool head in the fast-paced action of a tight lacrosse battle. Seniors like Kristina Alsante, Molly Henderson, and Megan Kapij help the team keep an even keel in those tense moments.
“Molly Henderson has been a starter on the attack, and she has very good ball control. We also have Megan Kapij and Kristina Alsante as seniors, too. Having all these seniors on the team is tremendously helpful in developing the starting group,” said Shriver. “You have to have seven players willing to play defense if you want to develop the offense. That’s 14 players plus the goalie, and we only have 19 players for both JV and varsity. If we have a JV game against another team, that’s often 7-on-7. If other schools have enough players, we’ve even had some seniors go out and play JV just because we need players. That’s been a help, actually.”
Another big contributor for the Rams has been their junior goalkeeper, Wakelee.
“Sam Wakelee was the JV goalie two years ago. She’s a very serious goalie. She’s also a serious athlete and competitor,” Shriver said. “She’s a very good goalie, and she’s still developing. Goalie is a tough position, and Sam still has great potential. She’s just a junior. There have been a lot of games where if she hadn’t made the saves, the other team would have won.”
Some other important players for the Rams include juniors Grace Adams, Chelsea Heinke, Lily Sigersmith, Alexa Coty, sophomore Maddie Beaudoin, and freshman Amelia Sigersmith.
“Maddie Beaudoin has started for us, two of our other main starters have been Grace Adams and Chelsea Heinke as attackers. Grace is very competitive and aggressive at attack. Chelsea has good feet in the scoring area, and she is very quick, too,” Shriver said. “Amelia and Lilly Sigersmith are the sisters back there on the defensive end, and thy are also exceptional athletes. We also have Alexa Coty, who’s a junior that’s come a long way since playing JV two years ago.”
While the Rams have a tremendous track record this season, Coach Shriver and his athletes know that there is always room for improvement. Old Saybrook has been so successful in slowing down their opponents top scorers, and the offense has supplied scoring pop enough to outpace the competition. Still, Coach Shriver thinks his offense can increase the pressure on their Shoreline Conference foes.
“I think our personnel is really strong. All of our highest scorers have accounted for a lot of our assists. The assists are a pretty good measure of offensive teamwork. I think we could be even more aggressive on the attack,” said Shriver. “There’s an element to how they work together as a team in the midfield and on defense that’s above average. I would say the midfield is good at both offense and defense, but the defense is particularly conscious of the scoring power on the other team and knowing how to adapt. The defense gets together and talks immediately after the opposing team scores a goal. They talk about it right away.”
Coach Shriver missed seeing his players compete during the spring season lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the Rams have a chance to play this year, they are keeping their eyes on the present, making up for lost time, and enjoying every moment.
“We focus on the next game. This season has gone well. I’m sure there were bumps in the road, but everyone had the same bumps, I think,” Shriver said. “I think all the teams in our league have come a long way. All the teams in our league have really good players. It comes down to how well they function as a team. That’s the differentiating factor.”