Fall Sports Preview: George C. Marshall

Last year the George C. Marshall field hockey team compiled the best record in the program’s history. This year, a more experienced and committed team will attempt to play up to the expectations of its coach.

Following a 10-6 finish in 2003 Head Coach Christina Carroll is raising the bar for her team in 2004.

“Overall this year’s team is pretty athletic,” Carroll says. “I want to do as least as well last season, and that was the best finish ever for our program.”

With all but four of members of the ’03 team returning, and citing the increased off-season commitment of several of her players, Carroll is guardedly optimistic that this year’s team can achieve that goal. Provided, of course, they score.

In 2003, Marshall sometimes struggled to find the back of the net, but to this point anyway Carroll’s team has scored with more regularity, averaging two goals per game in two scrimmages against Yorktown and West Springfield and their non-district match against Herndon.

Leading that scoring has been veteran center-midfielder and team captain senior Carolyn Brancato. Last season, Brancato finished the season as a member of the All-District First Team, and the All-Region Second Team after leading Marshall’s offense with eight goals. Brancato has gotten off to a fast start in 2004, already scoring two goals off corners.

“She just slaps it and like a bullet it’s in the corner of the cage,” Carroll says.

According to Carroll, Brancato can be just as deadly on offense when she isn’t shooting, noting her ability to create scoring chances using her agility and speed.

Boosting the Marshall offense will be a pair of sophomores that Carroll believes can contribute immediately. Left wing Gina Cappiello, is one of the two sophomores that has caught Carroll’s eye, with Carroll noting her moves and on-field awareness.

“She’s able to shake defenders and send cross passes to her teammates,” Carroll says. “And she can finish from the post.”

The coach is equally intrigued by sophomore mid-fielder Lauryn Byrne, whose sister serves as Marshall’s JV field hockey coach.

“I have very high expectations for her not only this year, but for the rest of her career here,” Carroll says. Byrne was the only freshman to make the varsity squad in 2003 and earned notoriety after the season by participating in the Futures League where she was selected to play in the National Tournament and qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics held in Des Moines, Iowa.

Byrne was one of several team members that participated in either camps or a summer league last season, a fact that Carroll believes bodes well for the future of the program. “Previously we had only one or two or three players practicing in the off-season,” Carroll says. “This season we had eight or nine players in camps and fielded an entire team in the summer league. It’s amazing.”

While the team should benefit from this additional experience, it will also benefit from the proven defensive play of junior Sam Mills and senior captain Colleen Gallagher. Last season Mills, like Brancato, was named to the All-District First Team and the All-Region Second Team, largely for her sheer effort.

“She’s always been active,” Carroll says. “She’s always saving balls on the line, diving for balls. She never gives up. She’s consistently good — a great tiny player.” Conversely, Gallagher, the team’s sweeper, is one of Marshall’s bigger players and serves as an imposing presence both on defense and on free corners.

“She doesn’t let a lot of balls get by her and she’s got a wicked clear,” Carroll says. “She’s been switching off with Brancato on corners, she scored on attempts in both scrimmages we’ve had this season.”

When it comes to the last line of defense, Carroll has not named a starting goalie, and indicated that both junior Mary Alice Scott and sophomore Liva Lund, a soccer goalie recruited for the team, will split time in net this season.

An experienced goalie is something that has eluded Marshall of late. Last season’s goalie, Amber Licktieg, herself was new to the position as a starter in ’03. Scott and this year’s Statesmen squad may have a leg up, after she spent time at the Chantilly Goalie Camp.

“It seems like ever year we have a new goalie,” Carroll says, already lamenting that Lund will not return next year due to her family relocating.

For all of the bright spots, Marshall has its fair share of weaknesses, Carroll points out. Among those is its transition game.

“The Herndon game was a real eye-opener,” Carroll says. “We didn’t transition well at all. We need to get used to playing with each other and remember to apply what we learn in practice. We need to be patient and play smart. We don’t have to rush, the ball doesn’t always have to move forward. It’s more important to keep possession.”

If Marshall doesn’t heed those lessons a tough season could lay ahead. The 2004 schedule is headlined by traditional rival Madison, who last year defeated Marshall in the final game of the regular season, knocking the Statesmen from a second-place tie, to a fourth place finish. Langley promises another tough match after Marshall prevailed in the regular season, but was ousted by their foe in the first round of the district tournament.

In the immediate future, Marshall plays in the Herndon Tournament beginning Thursday and could face annual power Braddock.

“We don’t always get a chance to see them, but we do know that they’re always awesome,” Carroll said. Braddock finished second in the Herndon Tournament last season.