Teamwork, leadership spark BunnellStratford co-op

FAIRFIELD — In a sea of red and gold, Sarah Salce stood out at Park Avenue Field in a blue shirt with red “Stratford Lacrosse” lettering trimmed in white.

“I had to buy a lot of blue,” the coach of the Stratford/Bunnell girls lacrosse co-op said with a laugh after a win over Notre Dame-Fairfield, “because I was at Stratford for the past six years.

“We’re kind of merging. Sometimes we’re in (blue) Bunnell uniforms, sometimes in (red) Stratford uniforms. We’re kind of going with the blue-and-red theme as much as possible. It kind of looks like America, but we can represent.”

The two schools came together in a co-op for this season after graduating a lot of players and picking up only four freshmen, all from Stratford High. The team is 7-1 going into Saturday’s game at Pomperaug.

“It’s worked very well for us,” said Stratford senior Amanda Ogrodowicz, one of four captains. “I think we’re all very supportive of each other. It was a lot easier combining than I thought it would be.

“Everyone was so friendly. Everyone was welcoming. I used to play with Mare, so it was great to play with her again.”

Bunnell senior Mariana Trovarelli agreed. “A lot of us used to play together in youth. It’s nice to be all together,” Trovarelli, another captain, said. “A lot of my friends went to Stratford High, so it’s good to play with them again. ... We jelled well together.”

With their low numbers, Stratford and Bunnell both feared having to cancel games if injuries or illness struck.

“(A co-op) was the smartest decision to keep both programs