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Westbrook Field Hockey Forms Co-Op with Lyme-Old Lyme

The Westbrook field hockey squad has grown a bit since last year as the Knights became the Westbrook-Lyme-Old Lyme (W-L-OL) field hockey team this year. Head Coach Janet Dickey and her team have welcomed five new players from Old Lyme into the ranks this year as the Knights look to rebuild the program after the departure of several seniors.

Coach Dickey and Assistant Coach Emily McCabe Alger had a rough start to the 2021 year as the Knights appeared to have too few players to field a squad for a while. Coach Dickey reached out to Dean of Student Activity Caitlin Eichler to see if there were any other schools in the area who were in the same position and possibly were looking to form a co-op team. That call was answered by Lyme-Old Lyme Athletic Director Hilda Heck. Westbrook welcomed five lacrosse players from Lyme-Old Lyme to help fill out the Knights’ roster.

“The first couple of days of practice, we had 12 on the roster, but only eight that were cleared to play. As we were going and we weren’t getting more kids, I brought up the prospect of finding a school nearby to bring in some more kids,” said Coach Dickey. “It’s really because of Hildy and Caitlin that we have a team. Hildy sent me some awesome kids from Old Lyme who are lacrosse players. Even though they never played field hockey before they have some sense of the game. Hildy graduated from Westbrook and played for me, too.”

The new players joining the squad are senior Bella Orlando, freshman Bella Ziegler, and juniors Gretchen Burgess, Sophia Marinelli, and Kylie Dishaw. Coach Dickey is pleased to have some solid athletes join in, and there’s already a great feeling of camaraderie building on the Knights. That has come down to the leadership of the team’s captains senior Samantha Nunez and junior Delaney Belcourt.

“We don’t have a lacrosse team so there are no standing grudges. Sam has been a huge part of building that bridge between our players and so is Delaney,” said Dickey. “The girls welcomed the Old Lyme players with a big sidewalk chalk welcome sign. I was actually afraid our girls might smother them they were so happy to see them.”

Nunez and Belcourt bring a positive outlook that is so important, especially in what is expected to be more of a rebuilding season for the Knights. Part of the reason the year is expected to be a rebuild is that Nunez is currently working her way back from injury.

“They both mix very well with how we like to run our program. Sam is in a boot right now, but she’s still there leading from the sidelines. Sam is the positive energy part of it. It’s like having another coach with us with her on the sidelines. She’s trying to be so positive and keep our energy going,” said Dickey. “Delaney is our junior captain, and she just has such amazing leadership skills. She stood out as a freshman in that area. She’s a natural leader, and she also plays in the center midfield. That’s a great place for a leader, right in the middle.”

Another returning player for the Knights this year is junior forward Caroline Dias, but because the Knights are looking to plug some holes resulting from injury, Dias may be moved somewhere else on the field. The most glaring need is in the backfield since Nunez is out for the first couple of months most likely. Dias will be joined by Myan Nguyen in the backfield.

“With Caroline, as of right now, we’re not quite sure where she’s going to be playing. She may be back on attack, but with Sam in a boot with a foot fracture, Caroline may help out on the defensive end for a bit,” Dickey said. “Myan Nguyen will be holding it down in the backfield, too. It’s hard to know all the positions, though. We haven’t really played enough together with this group yet because the weather is canceling all of our scrimmages.”

One sure thing will be junior Halley Pierson playing in the midfield for the Knights. Coach Dickey wants to keep a steady veteran presence in each area of the field so that some of the newer players have someone to look to if the game starts speeding up on them.

“Halley Pierson is going to be in the midfield. She’s an incredibly strong and fit athlete. She’s going to have an important spot in the middle of the field,” Dickey said. “We’re looking to place the experienced players on each line on each side of the field with new people around them. That’s the way that we’re going to balance it out.”

The last line of defense this year will be sophomore goalie Abby Demers. Coach Dickey believes that Demers has a solid foundation in net. Most important, Demers always puts her best effort forward in every practice and every drill. That will go a long way.

“Our goalie is Abby Demers, and she is a sophomore. She was our JV goalie last year. She’s got a great work ethic,” Dickey said. “ She’s always working hard and ready for anything. Lauren Horne worked really hard with her last year.”

Coach Dickey is also expecting to see some marked improvement from junior Mayte Calle Churai. It seems to Dickey that Calle Churai has really been putting all the pieces together over the past couple of years.

“For one junior, Mayte Calle Churai, I think this is going to be a break out year for her,” said Dickey. “She’ll be playing either as a forward or a midfielder. This is a year that she’ll have a chance to standout, more than in the past. She’s looked great in preseason so far.”

Coach Dickey expects that the team may experience some growing pains in 2021, there will certainly be plenty to celebrate. The Knights have some talent and experience even though it may not be as much as in years past.

“We knew this year was going to be a bit of a rebuilding year. We are happy to have kids to be work with. They are happy and having fun, and that’s what it’s all about for Emily and me. The kids from Old Lyme are awesome and they are such a great addition,” said Dickey. “We’re young, but there is experience in some spots. The thing I love about this crew is that they all work so hard. It shows. I see improvement everyday. As a coach you can’t ask for more than that. Next year we have a huge 8th grade class coming up to play. We just have to rebuild through this year and be ready to move forward.”