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09/20/2021 12:00 AMThe Old Saybrook field hockey squad made some big strides as a program last year, and in 2021, the team looks as potent as ever. The Rams added three wins to their tally last week and moved to a record of 5-0, and even though their offense doesn’t look as dominating as last season, Head Coach Nancy Gatta and Assistant Coach Sarah Thompson have enjoyed watching this well-rounded group beat opponents in a variety of ways.
Coach Gatta has been impressed with what she has seen from the team so far this season. The Rams didn’t have any time to work out the kinks in preseason contests because there were no scrimmages on their schedule. So far, that hasn’t seemed to have a big impact on the team’s play.
“I’m really happy because we had no scrimmages at the start of the season. Going into the first couple of games, we weren’t sure where some players were going to be. We’re getting to the point after five games where we know where our players are most effective,” Gatta said. “These last five games have helped us really blend together as a team and look forward to the next few games against some tougher teams like North Branford. So we have to look back at places where those last five games could have gone wrong and make sure we’re being better as a group.”
On Sept. 15, the Rams claimed a 4-1 win at home over Suffield. The games started a bit rough, but after falling behind early, Old Saybrook was able to take over the game. The Rams were bolstered by the play of senior MacKenna Cooke, who used to play for the Suffield team before coming to Old Saybrook.
“The interesting piece was that MacKenna used to play for Suffield. She was playing against some of her former teammates. She especially wanted to win that game,” said Gatta. “It was a struggle finding our rhythm at first. They were a bit intimidated by the Class M opponent and they weren’t sure what to expect. Once they got their groove, they did well. Suffield scored first within the first two minutes, that woke us up and got us going.”
After Suffield scored the first goal of the game, Old Saybrook was able to tie the game before the end of the first quarter and continued to supply scores throughout the rest of the game. Cooke scored a goal and added two assists. Senior captains Grace Adams scored a goal, and fellow senior captain Libby Stuart notched an assist. Junior Jessica Kidd provided a goal, as did senior Alexa Coty.
Old Saybrook’s senior captains Adams and Stuart have been big contributors already this season, but the Coach Gatta already knew that her team chose its captains correctly by their commitment to the entire squad’s development.
“Last year’s team all voted on the top two that they saw as captains. I let the team decide, and if I agree, that’s where we go. There are other seniors on the team that are amazing and contributing to this success, but they are the two that the team chose last year,” Gatta said. “Grace and Libby have been wonderful so far. They worked with the team on conditioning this summer. We have 12 freshmen, and Grace and Libby did a good job including the younger girls and getting to know each other. They are included in the game day rituals and everything that we do.”
On Sept. 16, the Rams played a close game against East Lyme. Old Saybrook was playing just 24 hours after their last contest, and Coach Gatta could see that her squad wasn’t its sharpest the whole game. That resulted in the Rams playing some bonus field hockey in overtime. Junior Sage Arpaia scored the Rams only regulation goal, and Coty provided the game-winning goal off a nice assist from Adams.
“We were a little flat from playing the day before. We came back and scored in the second quarter to tie the game. We deluged their goalkeeper, but she was amazing. We had some corners with opportunities, but it just didn’t happen,” Gatta said. “Finally in overtime, Grace had a breakaway down the field. She made a beautiful cross to Alexa, and she one-timed it in about three minutes into the overtime period. We were looking to score early, and we did. The last thing we wanted was a full overtime after just playing the day before. We had a lot of chances, so we brought the OT on ourselves, but they worked extra hard to finish the game. It’s a good lesson.”
Two days later, the Ram earned a 3-0 victory over Fitch. After playing a long, close game against East Lyme on Thursday, Old Saybrook was able to handle Fitch without much drama. Adams scored a pair of goals, while Stuart had a goal to her credit. Cooke provided an assist. Coach Gatta thought the defense played a tremendous game thanks in part to the play of senior Chelsea Heinke, who moved into the backfield after three seasons as a forward.
“The defense was so effective keeping the ball out of our zone. The second half they had some effective corners and offensive pushes, but our defense had a couple of goal line saves to preserve the shutout,” said Gatta. “Chelsea’s really fast, she used to play forward. Last year, she transitioned to defense, and she’s come to love that spot. She’s embraced the center back, and she’s great at getting to ball up the field from the backfield. She’s been a tremendous asset back there this year.”
Coach Gatta is trying a bit of a different approach this year in the cage this season, as the Rams have two primary goalies in junior Brianna Aspajo-Berdiales and junior Kate Molesky. Each goalie will play one half of Old Saybrook’s contests.
“We’re splitting time between the two of them and they are both taking the job really seriously. They are supporting each other at practice and they are both very vocal in the back and staying engaged in the game,” Gatta said. “I usually have them each play half the game. First 2 quarters and second two quarters. That’s how we’re going with it until we feel we need a change.”
Coach Gatta has been excited to see the change from offensive powerhouse to a solid team all over the field, and she hopes that the Old Saybrook community will come out and watch the Rams do something special this season.
“This year I feel like we are a well-rounded team. We have good forwards, middies, and backs. Every position on the field is covered by experienced players, and the spots where I have to use newer varsity players, they are surrounded by experience,” Gatta said. “We have a tradition going back to when I played for Saybrook. We’ve won championships. We have a lot of pride in this program. We are happy with how far we’ve come. We’re getting fans and alum coming to games, and the program is coming alive again. It’s nice to see everything coming together. Come cheer these girls on. They’re working hard and they love to hear the crowd.”