The J. Taylor Finley Middle School field hockey team featured some great young players during its abbreviated spring season.
Coached by Nancy Conlon, the 15 player squad was captained by Charlotte Curtain and Rafaella Gregorio. Finley played a six game schedule. The season is typically played in the fall, but due to COVID-19, it was moved to the spring this year.
Curtain was the team’s best offensive player, ruling the field from her center position. The eighth grader scored a pair of goals. Gregorio led Finley’s defense from her halfback position. Goalie Sophia Weiss was still another standout, recording 67 saves
“Charlotte is very fast with amazing skills,” Conlon said. “Raffy is a strong defender with strong drives. Sophia is a great goalie with amazing stops.”
A 2-0 win over Commack was the highlight of the season. Scoreless tie games against Candlewood and Stimson offered proof of Finley’s suffocating defense.
The roster included seventh graders Emily Barba, Kathleen Cocoman, Domenica Elgart, Shannon Koepele, Jesley Martinez Canales and Riley Uvena; and eighth graders Ella Ackerman, Charlotte Curtin, Madeline Eriksen, Damaris Fuentes, Rafaella Gregorio, Lily Hotine, Erika Reyes, Aine Rimkunas and Sophia Weiss.
“This year’s team was a lot of fun,” Conlon said. “They worked hard and really came together as a team and learned the game of field hockey.”