< Sandy McGugan of Stonington fires a shot past Fitch’s Ella Bergendahl during the Bears’ 2-1 ECC field hockey win over the Falcons.
Groton — Last year, Olivia Monte was a member of the Stonington junior varsity field hockey team, getting into a few varsity games as the Bears wound their way to the Class S state tournament semifinals behind a pair of all-state selections in Miranda Arruda and Colette Dreher.
Now Monte is the Bears' starting right wing. She is capable, if inexperienced, just one example of Stonington's rebuilding process this season as it tries to win an 11th straight Eastern Connecticut Conference title, what has become a built-in expectation around coach Jenna Tucchio's program.
"They're great players (who graduated) and there's some big shoes to fill," said Monte, a junior. "We're just trying to build our name. There's a lot of pressure on us.
"The first day of practice, I was coming in unsure of myself. When you're an underclassman it's hard just to prove yourself. (Practice was) vigorous. You just kind of push through."
Stonington beat Fitch 2-1 Tuesday in an ECC matchup, getting goals just before halftime from Ellie Korinek assisted by Monte and Teagan O'Brien assisted by Hannah Nulick.
Tucchio, who has certainly faced the rebuilding process before in her successful 17 years at Stonington, doesn't remember anything quite like this season, when not one starter returns to the same position from a year ago.
Tucchio found herself repeating words and phrases over and over again Tuesday, when the Bears upped their record to 2-1 overall, 2-0 in the league. But she also found herself with the realization that her players were enveloped by a sense of nervousness, afraid to lose an ECC contest, when all she really would like them to do at this point is keep improving.
"I see the fear in their faces. I can see by the way they're playing," Tucchio said. "There's not anyone out there that's going to win every game. These are just high school kids. We have 18 freshmen. We're just trying to get better every day.
"We just need to be a better field hockey team."
Fitch (1-3, 0-2) had the bulk of the chances early, putting together several penalty corners, including three in a row, before Stonington took their first.
But it was Stonington that converted a pair of corners headed into the half. With 4 minutes, 54 seconds before halftime, Sophia Fernholz fired a shot into the circle that was redirected by Monte, giving Korinek a clear shot at the goal.
O'Brien's goal to make it 2-0 came just 25 seconds before halftime.
Fitch scored the only second-half goal with 1:15 to play, getting the first career varsity goal from freshman Ashleigh Holmes, who received her varsity uniform just before the game. Bridget O'leary had the assist.
Fitch outshot Stonington 10-6. Stonington goalie Claire Evans made nine saves and Fitch's Hailie Kesterson made three.
"We had a lot of chances. We just didn't finish," said Fitch coach Diane Kolnaski. "These kids, this is one of the best teams I've had. They know their roles better, they played their positions better and played together better.” v.fulkerson@theday.com