By Amelia Brown ’18 and Sophie Driscoll ’19
As the weather gets warmer, the snow on Ginny Parker field will start to melt. Instead, sticks, goggles and pinnies will soon cover the field as the Staples girls’ lacrosse team begins its 2017 season.
Led by captains Colleen Bannon ’17, Liv Troy ’17 and Meghan Johnson ’18, the team aims to make it further than they did last season, which ended with a 9-6 record.
“Unfortunately we didn’t end up doing as well as we wanted to,” Christine Taylor ’18, one of the key upperclassmen players, said. “I think this year we can really compete with other teams and get into FCIACs and States.”
The team lost four senior starters from last year, three of whom were defensemen. However, Bannon is confident that the underclassmen on the team will step up to fill the holes. “Our returning sophomores, Elle Fair, Alexa Mysel, Izzy Cardello and Sam Pacilio made an impact last year, and we will most definitely be looking to them to help us this year, especially on the defensive end,” she said.
Although the team benefits from the talent of their younger players, head coach Stephanie Calabrese notes that the team consists primarily of upperclassmen. “With that will come the experience the girls now have to make better decisions, have stronger stick skills, understand why we do things on the field a certain way and how it helps our teammates be successful as well as themselves,” she said.
The team has found that they work well together in all aspects of the game. “We’re all super close and it makes practice and games even better,” Samantha Pacilio ’19, a starting defenseman, said. “We have a really special team dynamic on and off the field.”
According to Johnson, one reason the girls are so close is that six of them—Bannon, Johnson, Taylor, Elle Fair ’19, Alexa Moro ’18 and Abby Najarian ’18—played together on the girls’ varsity field hockey team, which ended last season with a 15-0-2 record.
Johnson echoed Pacilio’s sentiments. “Our team has really good chemistry and we’re excited for the season,” she said.
According to Johnson, the team is looking forward to playing against Norwalk, Wilton and Darien, three rival teams they hope to beat.
Fair expressed her own excitement, specifically for the game against Wilton. “We beat them last year on senior day and it was one of the greatest games I have ever played in,” she said. “I am hoping we can beat them this year as well.”
Calabrese emphasized that the team is very motivated and has been working hard in preparation for the upcoming season. She articulated the importance of maintaining strength of both mind and body. “Players will need to dig deep, channel from past games, wins and losses,” Calabrese said, “and figure out what they need to do on the field to pull out a win.”
