GA stickwomen drub nearby non-league rival

Posted 10/24/16

GA senior Carli McCrossen (left) blasts the ball past an Upper Dublin opponent. (Photo by Tom Utescher) by Tom Utescher Upper Dublin High School's field hockey team had been doing well within the …

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GA stickwomen drub nearby non-league rival

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GA senior Carli McCrossen (left) blasts the ball past an Upper Dublin opponent. (Photo by Tom Utescher) GA senior Carli McCrossen (left) blasts the ball past an Upper Dublin opponent. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

Upper Dublin High School's field hockey team had been doing well within the American Conference of the Suburban One League, and owned an overall record of 11-3-1 early last week. The Flying Cardinals were abruptly brought back down to earth on Wednesday afternoon during a visit from the Germantown Academy Patriots.

At first, GA's advantage in ball possession wasn't reflected on the scoreboard, with one early goal by the Pats standing alone on the board for almost 15 minutes. Germantown scored three times in the last 10 minutes of the first half, though, and went on to a 9-0 victory that raised its record to 11-5.

Sophomore standout Sammy "Can't Stop Her" Popper produced a scoring hat trick and had a pair of assists, but seven other GA players made their way into the scoring stats, as well. Junior Colleen Carrigan came away with two goals and two assists, and there were single goals for junior Maddie Cooper (one assist), senior Carli McCrossen, sophomore Maddie O'Hara, and freshman Catherine McFadden.

Ubiquitous senior Isabelle Jacobs handed out two assists, and her classmate Natalie Kim assisted on the final goal of the afternoon, which was Carrigan's second.

Splitting time in goal, freshman Olivia McMichael made two saves in the first half, and junior Hannah Santos was only called upon to make one stop in the second period as GA really got rolling. Santos is the Patriots' returning starter from last season, and McMichael, a new student who came out of St. Luke's in Glenside, has stepped up and earned time in the cage.

"They're interchangeable, and that's a luxury for us," said longtime assistant coach Brooke Watson. "They're both very good goalies and their statistics are very close. We don't always switch them; last Friday Olivia played the whole game against Episcopal [a 2-1 loss for GA against the defending Pa. Independent School champions]."

Watson, who is the school's head lacrosse coach, is ready to temporarily step in for second-year GA hockey head Jackie Connard, who is expecting her first child just about any time now.

Last year's freshman sensation, Popper, verbally committed to Princeton University as a ninth grader, and as a 14-year-old was already a fixture on the U.S. Under-19 Team. She contributes far more than just the goals and assists she piles onto the stat sheet.

"The pace of the things we do in practice and in games is established by Jackie," Watson said, "but the way that Sammy does them I think has raised the level for everybody. The team's agility and footwork has improved tremendously just since the beginning of this season."

Popper put GA on the board at Upper Dublin as the Pats earned their first penalty corner of the game around six minutes in. Cooper made the insertion from the left side to Popper up top, and the sophomore moved to her right, dodging a few flying Cardinals and then driving the ball home.

GA's next two corners were separated by an Upper Dublin rush that drew McMichael out of the cage to clear the ball from the Patriots circle.

The two restarts for the Pats ended with one shot wide to the left and a Germantown foul.

Another GA corner did not result directly in a shot, but the visitors kept the ball in the circle and after a few touches Popper propelled it in from about eight yards out in the middle. The clock was down to 10:09 at that point, and three minutes later McFadden scored from alongside the right post. The final goal of the half came with three-and-a-half minutes left, when a bouncing ball was tipped in out of the air by Carrigan.

McFadden and McMichael are part of a ninth-grade quintet that has contributed significantly to the Patriots' team depth. The other three are Maddi Ota (a transfer from Springside Chestnut Hill Academy), Grace Pacitti, and Jordan Roche.

Their advanced stickwork for their age has been a boon according to Watson, who observed, "These kids who are coming in for us now all have a club background."

A little over three minutes into the second half at Upper Dublin, McCrossen put GA's fifth point up in lights, establishing the tone for the second half. At the far end of the field, Santos only needed to make one save to complete the shutout started by McMichael.

Among the defenders who've been in front of the keepers this season are senior veterans Sydney Brown and Ali Crump, and ahead of them the reliable Jacobs and Cooper are positioned as "screen" players in a 3-2-3-2 formation that GA has borrowed from Team USA.

"The defense is very confident with each other and very solid as a unit," Watson said.

With two goals by Popper and one each by freshmen McFadden and Ota, the Patriots got back into league action on Friday with a 4-0 victory over Springside Chestnut Hill. That got GA above the .500 mark to 4-3 in the Inter-Ac, where the team's three losses have come against Episcopal Academy and undefeated league leader Academy of Notre Dame.

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