This time, experience favors Stonington in ECC field hockey matchup with East Lyme
Sep. 22—EAST LYME — For Stonington High School field hockey coach Jenna Tucchio, there are always adjustments to be made.
Take for instance this year's season-opening 3-2 loss to Guilford, one of the state's perennial powers and the two-time defending Class M state champion. By the fourth quarter, the Bears hadn't yet scored, when Tucchio played a little chess midgame with her lineup, moving senior midfielder Maddie Mendez to the right wing.
"It's always a work in progress," Tucchio said.
Of course, the progress stands to manifest itself a little bit easier with eight returning senior starters, including the defensive duo of senior captains Anne Drago at left fullback and Sophia Fernholz at right fullback, who didn't allow a shot on goal in Tuesday's 3-0 victory over East Lyme.
Hannah Nulick had a goal and an assist and Sam Harris and Dillon Griscom added goals for the Bears (3-1 overall, 3-0 Eastern Connecticut Conference), who led 1-0 at halftime on Harris' tip-in from Nulick.
The game was a rematch of last year's 1-0 Stonington victory for the ECC tournament championship and a rematch of the three ECC tournament title games prior to that. Stonington won the 2017 title, the Bears and Vikings tied in double overtime in 2018 and East Lyme won 1-0 in 2019.
The teams played four times last year, as due to COVID-19 ECC teams could only play within the conference.
This time, at least early in the season, experience favored Stonington.
"All of our seniors have been together playing varsity since sophomore year," Nulick said. "So that bond we have is insane. It's like no other I've ever seen. It's why we play so well together. We've been together as a team for so long.
"(Our senior year) is definitely important. It's bittersweet. It's sad it's my last year but I know all of our seniors are ready to make the most of this season."
Fernholz and Drago captain the team along with senior midfielder Sandy McGugan, the Bears' only returning all-state selection from 2020.
Tucchio said that while the team is "still trying to find our stride," the leadership and talent among the seniors is what's carrying the Bears right now. Since falling to Guilford, Stonington has outscored its opponents 16-1.
Tucchio referred to the seniors' patience as she makes a few shifts here and there and as the younger players develop around them.
"I tell these kids all the time, 'Have patience,'" Tucchio said. "'Things will develop. Things aren't going to be perfect overnight.' They're pretty patient. They realize it's a process. This is a process we go through every year. We want to make sure we maximize the talent we've got."
The defense, meanwhile, is Stonington's steadying force. She said while Fernholz moves around more, Drago is firmly planted on the Bears' back line.
"Annie knows exactly what's going on in the backfield and she'll pick up anything, anything that comes in there whether it's on the left or the right," Tucchio said. "She's hard to get past. I have yet to see somebody get past her this year, even against Guilford. We lost 3-2 but they did not get in on the left side. They had to score somewhere else."
East Lyme, meanwhile, along with its returnees, starts a pair of freshmen in Gracie Lloyd and Violet Maziarz, as well as sophomore defender Zofia Maziarz who is a newcomer to the game. Zofia Maziarz had several defensive clears against Stonington, fronting goalie Jaci Felix as Stonington unleashed seven penalty corners against the Vikings.
The Vikings are 1-3 overall, 1-1 in the ECC.
"We are a very young team," East Lyme coach Kristy Behbehani said. "It's usually a much closer battle (against Stonington). They dominated the game today. They had a lot of opportunities. We have a lot of work to do; we're four games into a young season."
