First-year varsity high-school teams often don’t win much, but that wasn’t the case for the upstart Bishop O’Connell Knights girls varsity ice-hockey team during the fall season.
The high-school squad of 21 players competed in two leagues and combined not only to finish with a 12-4 overall record, but became runner-up in each postseason tournament. The leagues were the A Division of the Mid-Atlantic Girls Soccer League and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.
The Knights were nipped by Holton-Arms, 4-3, in overtime in the Mid-Atlantic tourney final and fell to St. John’s, 6-1, in the WCAC title match.
“We had a great turnout of players and it was a magical season with an abundance of riches for us,” O’Connell coach Geoff Rixon said.
The coach said the Knights were able to quickly excel because the team had talented and experienced players and a strong defense led by two good goalies. A number of the players had participated in youth leagues in previous years. Those players helped those with less experience improve more rapidly.
“Our players had energy and enthusiasm the whole season,” Rixon said. “They were so glad to have the opportunity to play high-school ice hockey and have a team, they really want to do their best, and had great chemistry.”
Top players for O’Connell were senior Campbell Thompson, Camryn Sidhu and Scarlett Halal, juniors Emily Wiese and Isabella Gorkowski, sophomore Bridget Loftus and freshman Lucy Jorjani. All seven were All-WCAC selections.
Other players for O’Connell Sadie Mossop, Holly Mott, Anna Seavey, Bertille Mason, Tatiana Saliba, Jordan Hardenburg, Ariana Conway, Aoibhe Cooney, Anne Van Dyck, Isa Vasseva, Maggie Pace, Sydney Miller, Maddy Trump and Lauren Arzadon.
Gorkowski and Arzadon were the goalies.
Rixon said there had been multiple attempts in previous years to start an O’Connell varsity team. Nothing occurred until the organization of an O’Connell club team a year ago, when many of the players learned the game. Rixon coached that club team and was asked to continue as this past season’s varsity coach.
Rixon is a social studies teacher at the school and has been a longtime ice-hockey player in area recreation leagues.
