EA girls’ field hockey and soccer PAISSA champions

Lola Quigley ’20

Raina Kuzemka ’20

Girls’ Field Hockey

The Girls Field Hockey team finished the season strong with a 1st place finish in the  PAISAA championship. The girls knew that the final against Germantown Academy was going to be a tough game as Captain Maddie Rehak ’19 explained “everyone was very nervous about playing GA”. The team had not beaten GA in league play all season, but Rehak says “we should’ve won both games we played them before the PAISAA game.” They had just captured the Interac title, but we knew it rightfully belonged to us”. Coach Buggy said the preparation for the game was “really more a function of trying to improve every week, every game, and so we weren’t even focusing on it as the PAISAA tournament as much as trying to get better as a team everyday.” Later, Coach Buggy added after learning about the new shootout rules “we spent a good majority of one practice practicing shootouts, each kid went 3 times each, and the goalies were talking about what helped and what didn’t help.” The actual game was a nail biter, as Rehak said “the most stressful moment of the game was the moment after GA had just scored their third goal in a row.” Rehak was worried that their lead of 2-0, turning to a game of 3-3 would “deflate our confidence we had going into the game”, Rehak added that this change of play made the team “work even harder to get that last goal during regular play”. Captain Lauren Devletian ’19 added that during the game “the team worked extremely well together”, like they did throughout the season. EA came up strong in the shootout with a 2-1 victory. Coach Buggy explained “It ultimately comes down to who will execute in that moment. It was exciting to see Gianna Pantaleo and Maddie Rehak score when the team needed them with their two goals in the 2-1 shootout win, and Caroline Kelly’s defense. The seniors really came through.” Rehak finished with the statement, “I was so proud with the tenacity and drive EA field hockey showed in the game”. The girls plan to win the PAISAA championship next year as well.

Girls’ Soccer

The Girls Soccer soon followed in their footsteps, accomplishing the same exact thing the next day. The team came up short of the Interac title with a third place finish, but focused on the opportunity of the PAISAA title, as head coach Andy Fraggos explained “we worked on PK’s the day before, and since we knew we were playing Baldwin we knew what we had coming at us, so we planned accordingly.” He also explained that from the beginning of the season “our confidence with each other grew. I think that was the big difference in the season for us.” Co-Captain Maddie Loughead ’19 stated “I felt very confident going into the game, and when I walked on the field, I had a good feeling about our team dynamics and energy.” The game was eventful throughout, ending regulation 3-3, with two goals from Olivia Dirks ‘19  and one Anna Salvucci ‘19. Loughead discussed the teamwork throughout the game, saying “I thought everyone really tied it together. We brought all the training sessions all season together, and the puzzle pieces seemed to fit together from the start of warm ups to the last pk opportunity.” Coach Fraggos explained the game as “so stressful” and “exhausting on the sideline”. With a big Thunderdome showing, Maddie Loughead added “when our legs got tired their cheering and energy motivated everyone on the field to give it all they had”. The penalty shootout was underway after two 5 minute overtime periods that remained scoreless. Heading into the shootout Fraggos shared “I was surprisingly confident even though Baldwin just beat Penn Charter in PK’s and they had a game’s worth of experience with PK’s on the line ending their season.” The lineup began strong with goals from Anna Salvucci ‘19, Raina Kuzemka ‘20, Olivia Dirks ’19, and ended with Maddie Loughead ‘19, who scored the game winning goal, after Allie Bush ‘21, saved two penalty shots from Baldwin. After the game, sophomore Allie Bush, who played an essential role in the win, recalled “The shootout was frightening and thrilling and it is a moment I will never forget within my high school soccer career.”