Separated at birth?
Hmmm, let’s think about this.
Well, both Hamilton West seniors share the same first name and same first initial of the last name. Both stand 5-foot-1. Both have the same hairstyle.
Need more?
Both never played lacrosse before their freshman year. Both have high grade point averages and their career plans are mapped out.
And most importantly to the Hornets’ girls lacrosse team, both are helping to fill the scoring void left by Hamilton Township’s all-time and single-season goal-scoring leader Morgan Bressler.
Through the Hornets 3-5 start, Ava Rogalinski led the team with 14 goals, while Ava Riley was second with eight and tied for second with 11 ground balls.
“Someone had to work and step up to score,” Riley said. “I was just thinking, ‘All right, I know I’m not as physical as Morgan, but I can at least get some goals and some passes.’ I was gonna just try and score and hope for the best.”
Rogalinski is mostly on the attack, where she scored 24 goals last year to finish third on the team behind Bressler and Amelia Reed. Now a junior, Reed is also contributing, as she scored seven goals in her first five games back after surgery.
Riley is a midfielder who does it all, whether defending or attacking.
“They will play wherever is needed in the game,” coach Katie Bloodgood said. “They’re versatile. They’re definitely fueling a fire and getting some sparks going. They’re creating that momentum that we needed. It finally clicked after our third game where they really started scoring big.”
Hamilton scored a combined six goals in an 0-3 start, but in game four Rogalinski scored five and Riley was one of three players with two as the Hornets took a 12-11 win over Stuart. That started an offensive explosion as West tallied 50 goals in a five-game span. Riley had seven in that binge while also defending, and Rogalinski tallied 12.
The two players, who have become closer off the field during their four years as teammates, agree that their chemistry helps.
“It does help playing together and we’ve been friends for a while,” Riley said. “That connection’s really strong, it’s not something you get every day.”
Rogalinski agreed, saying that, “We always try to look for each other. She’s a lefty, I’m a righty so we both come from different directions. When she’s up top I can look for her or she can look for me.”
Bloodgood can see the cohesiveness between the two from the sidelines.
“Just playing together for the past four years they know how each other works and what kind of passes they like,” the coach said.
The duo arrived at West on different playing fields as freshmen. Even then, their classmates had the “separated at birth” theory.
“It’s funny,” Rogalinski said. “Everyone asks, ‘Are you guys sisters? You guys look alike.’”
They weren’t together initially, as Riley played soccer and Rogalinski was a field hockey player. They were both talked into lacrosse — a sport neither had ever done — by their teammates who were either going out for, or already were on, the team.
“I thought I should try it,” Riley said. “It seemed fun. And I was good at it so I stuck with it. It came to me naturally. I worked really hard to make sure I got it down. And then I did the winter league to make sure I was good and it paid off.”
Rogalinski did not adapt immediately, but slowly got it.
“I did not know what I was doing at all freshman year. I think I’ve come a long way,” she said with a laugh. “But I loved playing lacrosse more, I quit playing field hockey and ever since then it’s just lacrosse. It came naturally as I went along. Obviously you’re not gonna be the best when you start, but as you keep going you get better and better so I think it was pretty easy to pick it up.”
The girls combined for five goals and one assist as freshmen. Earning more playing time as sophomores, Rogalinski had 17 goals and three assists and Riley had 16 goals and four assists. Although Bressler was the go-to girl, the Ava Rs were learning to play with each other.
“Having Ava helps a lot because every time I run down she’s always there cutting,” Riley said. “For some reason we always connect. I always find her and she always finds me and we always get a lot of assists and goals together.
“She’s really good at catching high balls. She can jump, that’s what I like about her. I can just throw the ball toward her and it will go right into her stick and she’ll turn and shoot.”
About the only thing Rogalinski does wrong in the world of West athletics is – gasp! – root for Steinert in the Thanksgiving football game since she dates Spartan linebacker Remy Feniello.
“I probably own more Steinert clothes than Hamilton,” she quipped.
But her heart is with the Hornets on the lacrosse field and despite her small stature, Rogalinski makes up for it with some hops.
“I tend to jump for the high passes and just shoot it right in,” she said. “Or I roll around the cage, coming from the right and just get the ball and shoot.”
While Rogalinski likes to score off the pass, Riley will take it to the goal.
“I get the ball outside and just drive in, I just go for it,” she said. “And I do a good whip shot.”
Both players feel that their slight size can be used to their advantage.
“You’re tiny so you can probably make your way through things easier,” Rogalinski said.
“A lot of defenders are bigger and you can just duck right around them, or they’ll get a lot of foul calls on them,” Riley added. “So it helps a lot, especially in free positions.”
In assessing the two, Bloodgood said Rogalinski “has beautiful catches and quick whip shots.”
She praised Riley for being all over the field.
“She has gotten so great at getting back on defense and helping defend as a mid, and just being that transition person we need to get the ball up the field,” the coach said. “If she needs to drive on goal she’s willing to do that. She’s been huge getting back and not complaining about the running. She’ll do draws. She’s everywhere I need.
“And they’re both willing to flip flop if needed. I tell them they have the right if they need to switch to be able to get things done.”
When they’re not playing lacrosse, the two are busy pounding the books. Riley has a 3.75 GPA while Rogalinski is 4.1 weighted.
Riley will begin working at Capital Health as an EMT in September. She has prepared by taking classes in anatomy and sports medicine and, after two years, plans on going to nursing school.
Rogalinski has taken cosmetology classes at Mercer Vocational School and also has a job waiting after graduation. Her mom, Kristin, and her aunt, Sherri Hendrickson, opened the Beauty Loft Salon in Chesterfield last August and Ava has a chair waiting.
When asked if Riley will go there to get her haircut, Rogalinski smiled.
“I do her hair now,” she said.
Gee, there’s a surprise.
Ava Riley and Ava Rogalinski are among the team leaders in goals for Hamilton West lacrosse despite the fact that neither played the sport prior to high school. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
