Sammy Popper caps career in style
Senior scored 42 goals, leading Patriots to 1st Inter-Ac title in 12 years
The Germantown Academy field hockey team won the Inter-Ac championship for the first time in 12 years this season and reached the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association title game.
The Patriots couldn’t have done it without senior Sammy Popper.
The Blue Bell native delivered for them all season — posting 42 goals and 16 assists for 100 points — and especially showed up in the big moments.
For that, Popper is the Reporter, Times Herald and Montgomery Area Player of the Year.
“It is an honor to be named AllArea Player of the Year and represent my school with this honor in my senior year,” she said.
It was the fourth straight year Popper led the Patriots in scoring — totalling a program-record 179
career goals.
In the Inter-Ac clinching 7-0 win over Penn Charter, Popper was named Most Valuable Player following a four-goal performance.
“I’m extremely proud of the team and our accomplishments this year,” she said. “It has really been a culmination of the effort and work we’ve put in over the past four years and I’m so happy to end my high school career on such a high note.”
Popper, who earned First Team AllInter-Ac honors for the fourth consecutive season, was just as important in the PAISAA championship rounds.
In a 3-1 semifinal win over the Hill School, she had three assists.
In a 4-3 shootout loss against Episcopal in the championship game, she scored three consecutive goals in regulation to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead.
Popper has been a member of the USA indoor national team since she was 13 years old and the USA outdoor junior national team since eighth grade.
“The experiences that I have gained through training and games overseas with the US team have exposed me to many different playing styles and allowed me to grow my game at a higher level,” she said.
Next year, Popper will continue her education and field hockey career at Princeton University. She committed as a freshman. All Area Field Hockey
First Team
Ava Borkowski Plymouth Whitemarsh
Keri Daly Archbishop Carroll
Anna Gwiazdzinski Souderton
Julianna Kratz Mount St. Joe
Ellie Maransky Mount St. Joe
Kennedy Reardon Plymouth Whitemarsh
Casey Reichwein CB West
Casey Reilly Central Bucks South
Meghan Reilly Wiss
Sam Spera Plymouth Whitemarsh
Kristin Varilla North Penn
Second Team
Grace Ball Wissahickon
Katy Benton Methacton
Alden Boccella Gwynedd Mercy
Sydney Borneman Pennridge
Katelyn Crist Spring Ford
Molly Frey Methacton
Danielle Hamm Perk Valley
Ryann Kullmann Upper Dublin
Gabriella Martina Perk Valley
Kate Strickland Dock
Rory Strohm Jenkintown