Cecilia Gallagher ‘21 | Ella Sundstrum ‘21
For her commitment to excellence and brilliant communication from the box, Allie Bush ‘21 is November’s Girl’s Athlete of the Month. A natural leader, Bush began playing soccer at just four years old, and is now the starting goalkeeper and captain of the EA girls’ varsity soccer team. Although COVID-19 has brought many changes to the soccer season, Bush remains positive and sets an amazing example for the rest of the team.
STAR GOALIE: Senior Captain Bush keeps the communication and wins coming on the varsity girls’ soccer team. Photo courtesy of Ashley Kennedy
As a goalkeeper, Bush is strongly focusing on leading the back this year and helping her teammates play new positions. She shares, “The entire backline is either new to the varsity team or have never played defense so communication from me is imperative.” Bush also hopes to help the team work better together as a group because she believes that “in the past we’ve been pretty individualistic.” However, she is confident about the season ahead and emphasizes the importance of competing every chance the team gets.
Bush’s favorite memory on the team occurred during her sophomore year when they won the 2018 PAISAA championship in a shootout. She saved two out of the five shots in the shootout, enormously contributing to the team’s win. Bush values this moment on the team because she admits that back then, “[the team] struggled throughout the year despite how much talent we had. Winning PAISAA after losing the InterAc, especially in a shootout, felt as if all our hard work finally paid off. The excitement and adrenaline from celebrating as a team and a school will forever be my favorite memory of high school.”
Bush makes an effort to ensure that her teammates feel welcome and prepared. Makayla Cawley ‘22, new to Episcopal this year, states, “I felt really welcomed by Allie and the whole team when I first came here.” Cawley continues, “She wasn’t afraid to lend a hand and introduced me to new players. Allie has been a great leader by not only being vocal, but also leading by example.”
Similarly, teammate Ally Wilchusky ‘21 shares, “She’s the base of our team. Allie is probably the most talkative on the field.” Regarding Bush’s crucial role on the field, Wilchusky explains, “By being the goalie, she sees the field in a perspective that no one else on the field sees, so it is vital that she does communicate.” In addition to Bush’s communication, Wilchusky comments that “every game she goes out there and does well and that projects onto other players about going out there and giving your all every time.” Wilchusky continues, “she has these standards that she continues to uphold which is a great representation of our team.”
Andrew Fraggos, Bush’s EA soccer coach, states, “Allie has been our starting goalkeeper on the varsity team since her sophomore year, which is kind of a big deal; it’s not too common to have a sophomore start at such a young age on the varsity level.” He elaborates, “Her first year as a sophomore, she had a pretty big year. She had a great start to her career here at EA.” Bush has matured as an athlete since her first year with the soccer program. Fraggos states that he has “[seen] Allie step into that leadership role and be more vocal. It’s been exciting to see her develop as a person and as a leader this year, especially because that goal keeper position demands it.” Similar to Bush, he believes that “the highlight of Allie’s career has to be sophomore year. She made an incredible penalty kick save to win our state PAISAA championship when we were playing Baldwin. She was in the newspaper, there was a photo of her jumping up and down and the team running to her. It was incredible. It was such a great snapshot of the moment.”
Looking to the future, Bush has not committed to any school for soccer, but is considering playing in college. But at EA, Bush is already a clear leader on the girls’ soccer team. She has made a meaningful impact on the team since her first year on varsity. Stepping into an even larger leadership role her senior year, with her skills on and off the field, Bush is prepared for a successful final season in her EA jersey.