Bruins bank on depth for easy opening win
Puglisi leads way with 4 goals as 7 players score in Broadneck victory
When Katy Kelley was asked about her key players in Broadneck’s 16-4 victory over Old Mill on Friday, the coach paused, then gave a different answer.
“I actually think our key is going to be everyone being a threat,” Kelley said. “I think the girls, the more experienced players, are stepping up big time all over the field. So I’d rather not comment on key players, I feel like moving forward, everyone’s a threat. We had a lot of different scorers. … I definitely think the more experienced players stepped up to control the tempo and take charge, which is what we want to see.”
The Bruins had seven scorers, to be exact.
The game — and season — started off somewhat inauspiciously for Broadneck when the Patriots’ Allyna Threat scored her first of two goals on the evening, this one in the opening minute. They wouldn’t hold the lead for long, as the Bruins responded with seven unanswered goals over the next nine minutes.
“I feel like we tend to (get behind early),” Kelley said. “It’s interesting. Maybe we’re a little bit of (slow starters) and we just need a little bit of a wake-up call. I knew that they would come ready to play. We focused on the draw a lot and I think getting the draw and getting down on our offensive end is kind of the boost that we needed.”
Kaala Puglisi led the charge for the Bruins with four goals and four assists. Olivia Abe scored three goals and picked up an assist, Alexis Sullivan scored three goals, Teresa Pelli added two goals and two assists, Sammy Dupcak scored two goals and Emily Eckels added a goal.
“I thought it was a good starting point for our team,” Kelley said. “We have a lot of new players and so we kind of needed that first step to set a precedent of what they want to accomplish. I feel like, obviously, they still have some things to work on, but it was a good starting point for them coming together as a unit.”
It was a rough way to start the season for Old Mill, which also got goals from Natalie Sonntag and Gracie DePaul. Patriots’ coach Lauren Carrier said her goal right now is getting her young team acclimated to the game and learning more about what they have.
“I mean at the beginning of the year, (you’re determining) just what to clean up,” Carrier said. “There’s the first game jitters for a lot of them. We do have a young team, so getting to learn our players is probably what today’s goal was. Obviously, Broadneck is always a strong team, so opening up our season against a strong team kind of really highlighted what we need to keep working on”
Kelley, whose team finished 7-9 in 2017, was upbeat about starting off 2018 on the right foot.
“I think it’s just always good to start off with a win,” Kelley said. “It’s a positive stepping stone in a season where each game is tough. There is really no letdown in any competitor and anything can happen, so I think just going out there and performing at a certain standard is what we’re looking to do. It’s great to come off the field with a win.”