For the High School South field hockey team, it has been a long wait to qualify for the state finals. Veteran field hockey fans remember the days of team captain Amy Bruschi (Class of l997), along with her younger sister Kristen (2001), who won six county titles between them. A plaque in the school’s trophy case marks Kristen’s 23 goals for a single season—still a school record. But for the last five years, those glory days of state competition have been only memories – until now.
Three years ago, after a stellar collegiate career at Johns Hopkins, Amy came back to her alma mater as coach and has been building a team that has restored pride to Pirate field hockey. The team has earned its 11-5-1 record without an individual star or a flashy offense. Rather victories have been achieved by the steady upfield march of a well integrated, disciplined team, trained to coordinate and communicate.
Much of this successful blending can be credited to the Pirates’ exceptionally strong midfield. Through the season, junior Kelsey Borup at center midfield has pushed hard on the attack and continually fed the ball forward. The Pirates also had the benefit of senior Liz Pinelli, who two weeks ago in a game against Steinert tore a knee ligament. Pinelli has been not only a skilled ball handler who worked well with the forwards, but a strong team motivator.
Still supporting Borup’s side is midfield Lauren Petro. Credited with many assists, Petro is quick to praise the defense for keeping the ball flowing forward. “Our defense has provided us with a cohesive feed, and we’ve gained a lot of rapid communication skills,” she says. “But our sense of trust could still be a lot stronger.”
Running hard to take those midfield passes and transform them into goals are junior Mallory Swanson and sophomore Tory Sharpless. As the season neared it sends these two forwards shared scoring honors with nine goals and two assists each. Sharpless, who in her first varsity season in certainly making her mark, seems to instinctively sense Borup’s moves and tactics. “I just keep right, and Kelsey always brings the ball exactly where I need it,” she says.
Swanson has continually cut through opposition with solid ball handling and impressive speed. Coach Bruschi describes her as a thinking player, who is able to cut and shift unexpectedly on field. Swanson turns the compliment back by noting, “the coach has us do a lot of basic skill drills help us switch back and forth faster.”
Meanwhile, Ally Trevorrow tends the net. “She’s a fabulous goalie,” says Petro. “She is always working, ready to dive and fling herself after a ball.” Originally a soccer goalie, Trevorrow moved to the field hockey net on something of a whim. But goal tending is the only slot she has ever considered. “I always think defensively,” she says. “I focus on the ball and, particularly when it gets up to the 50, I am mentally forming defensive plays.” Ever on the aggressive, Trevorrow pushes herself forward comparatively, usually standing two thirds toward the goal circle line. “You have to be quicker there,” she says, “but you can deflect a lot of plays early.”
As the team enters the states finals, Coach Bruschi predicted that the strong balance between all the positions should carry them far. As school sports programs keep ever-expanding, many have wondered if the athletic talent isn’t being spread too thin and individual teams are perhaps suffering. Bruschi thinks not. “Yes, we have a lot of good athletes in soccer, but I don’t think it has hurt us. We have 60 girls in our program and that is a success for a sport that most do not encounter before seventh grade.”
Continued success and rebuilding will now have to wait until next year. Entering the sectionals as the No. 2 seed and with a home field advantage, South was locked in a scoreless tie with Hunterdon Central through the first half of their game on November 1. Despite South’s Tevorrow’s nine saves in goal, the visitors took a 2-0 lead with 5:52 remaining. South mounted a comeback effort, led by Dana Bongiovanni’s goal, but the game and the season ended, 2-1.
