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11/26/2015 11:00 PMKeira Integlia started her field hockey career by patrolling the turf, but it wasn’t long before she found her home in the cage and it’s become a permanent residence for the Branford junior, who keeps sharpening her goaltending skills each season.
Keira initially dabbled at the keeper’s position in 8th grade because her team was in need of one. When she arrived at the high school two years ago, Keira quickly found that she liked serving as the last line of defense and knew she wanted to be a mainstay in the Hornets’ cage. Keira recently completed a second stellar season as Branford’s varsity goalie and came away from it having earned Second Team honors on both the All-SCC and All-State squads. Keira loves being a keeper so much that she wants to continue manning the position in college.
“I enjoy it. It’s an adrenaline rush and such a good feeling. It’s why I play field hockey,” says Keira on the pressures of playing the cage. “Being a goalie puts me in my happy place. It makes me feel amazing.”
Like every goalie, Keira has experienced both sides of the equation. More often than not, she kicks the ball out of harm’s way, although there are those times when she does allow one to sneak through. Keira embraces the energy that comes with making a big save and knows the best way to get past surrendering a score is by deflecting aside negativity just like she would a shot on goal.
“If I make an extraordinary save, it’s a great feeling. I hear my teammates yell, ‘Yeah red!’ and it makes me feel so good that all the hard work is paying off in a game,” says Keira. “If I give up a goal, I just say to myself that it’s just a goal, it’s just a game, it’s not the end of the world. If you give up the one goal, you can’t hang on in it or you’ll allow another score. You can’t think about it, so you just shake it off—as Taylor Swift would say.”
The Hornets featured six captains this fall and Keira was one of two juniors who held that role. With so many new faces on the field, Keira says it took some time for the team to jell in the recent season. However, once everyone grew closer and started bonding off the field, Branford began to see the positive effects on the field and played its best down the stretch en route to notching 11 victories and reaching both postseason tournaments. Among the big-time triumphs, Keira and company prevailed 3-2 against defending SCC and Class M state champion Hand, after which they posted a 2-0 blanking in the conference quarters against a Hamden team that gave them some trouble during the regular season.
“We were just pumped [after those two wins]. Hand is always tough and it’s always our goal to beat Hand and it was a great feeling to know we beat one of the best teams in the state. It was the same with the Hamden game. We lost to them earlier, but in SCCs, we kind of woke up and knew we needed to win. We really encouraged each other to work hard, play as hard as we can, and give all we got,” Keira says. “From where we started at the beginning of the year to the end is an amazing amount of progress. I just hope we keep improving next season, so we can be in the SCC final and maybe win it or take it further in states. It’s just a good feeling to know that we put in that amount of work and that we can do it.”
Speaking of hard work, Hornets’ Head Coach Cathy McGuirk says that Keira has done a ton of it the past few years, which is why the netminder followed up a solid sophomore season with an even better junior year. Keira’s work ethic is one of the reasons her peers voted her a captain for the recent campaign and McGuirk feels her keeper performed just as well in that position as she did in the cage.
“Keira improved this year at all levels of her play and did things faster, stronger, and with more technical expertise. She is also very coachable and more than willing to work hard at perfecting all the techniques and skills,” says McGuirk, whose husband John works with the Hornets’ goalies. “As a captain, Keira is a very positive leader with her words and actions. She’s always looking to make sure the other kids are doing well and is helping the other goalies. Keira is just a real positive kid and I see her getting even better and more mature and confident when she’s a senior. She’s just a good, positive role model for the kids.”
Keira was one of Branford’s Rookie of the Year recipients as a freshman and was then among those chosen for Best Defensive Player and Most Improved Sophomore honors last season. Keira also started varsity for the girls’ basketball team her first two years and the shooting guard collected the Best Defensive Player and Most Blocked Shots awards for her freshman and sophomore campaigns, respectively. Keira has opted to not play hoops this winter, although she will be joining the Hornets’ indoor track squad. Last spring, Keira competed in outdoor track and took first place in the javelin at the SCC West Sectional Championship. Keira’s all-time best throw is 104 feet-1 inch and she’s looking to add about 20 feet to that to contend for SCC and state titles in the forthcoming spring season.
Even with her vast amount of success in all these athletic arenas, Keira’s home remains in the cage and that’s where she plans to be in her senior year at Branford and beyond. Keira participates in a field hockey program called Futures where she hones her skills by working with college coaches. Keira’s aiming to use what’s learned there to in order to have a bright future at the collegiate level, while continuing her career in a sport that’s become her passion.
“My love for the game makes me so happy and just gives me such a great feeling when I play,” says Keira. “It’s that desire to just want more.”