GROTON – Despite a 2-8-2 start, the Groton-Dunstable Regional High School girls soccer team has remained close.
Like sisters.
Not surprisingly, since half of the roster is comprised of four sets of sisters – Hannah and Aubrey Stark, London and Sloane Casavechhia, Emerson and Reese McAdam, and Ava and Delia Buchman.
Head coach Sean Murphy didn’t realize it until a few weeks into the season.
“I was looking at my roster and I looked to put down Sloane in the starting slot and I started writing London’s name and number down and I said, ‘Wait a minute, I have two of those and two more of those.’ No one really has said anything about it – not even any of the girls,” he said with a laugh.
The veteran coach said the eight girls have made this season very enjoyable.
“This is a fun story. It’s not about talent, it’s not about numbers on a stat sheet. It’s about people playing together, growing up together and playing in the backyard and then all of a sudden you get to do it together in a varsity uniform. That’s pretty cool,” he said.
“It’s really fun and I feel like you can really feel that closer bond with the people who have the sisters,’ said Hannah Stark. “The sisters have all grown up together, the older ones and then the younger ones have been together so it just feel like we’ve all been together and it creates such a fun dynamic.”
Hannah, Aubrey Stark
Hannah Stark is a three-sport captain who also plays basketball and lacrosse. On the soccer field, she’s a senior midfielder, while Audrey is a sophomore and starting defensive back.
“We are really close. We are close in age and have always played the same sports,” said Hannah. “We do everything together. We go to school, we share a lot of the same friends so it’s been really fun. We all played a lot of the same sports throughout our whole lives so that was really fun.”
“Aubrey got dinged up during a game and she was down for a second and the first over there to check on her was Hannah,” said Murphy. “Then our very next game, it was a reverse situation where Hannah took a ding and it was Aubrey who was the first one over to see her.”
London, Sloane Casavecchia
London is a senior midfielder and feeding the ball is Sloane.
“I feel like we play pretty well together,’ said London. “She’ll pass me the ball a lot and there’s times when I help her out. She reads the field well and she’s able to be where she needs to be so she can set up good plays and pass the ball forward.”
Those passes are small, yet wonderful moments London said she’ll always remember.
“We’re pretty close and I think it’s good (to be teammates) and it’s fun. We’re two years apart so we really were always apart growing up playing sports and now this is the first time that we’re playing together,” she said.
“London is a wing midfielder and that’s based upon her offensive abilities, which is a lot of speed. Sloane is a wing fullback and she is pretty much my first substitute off the bench on defense. Sloane has always been defensive minded,” said Murphy.
Emerson, Reese McAdam
Back in the hot days of August, when tryouts were being held, Emerson, a senior basketball captain, said she knew her sister had the talent to make varsity, even as a freshman.
“When she made the team, I was so thrilled for her,” said Emerson. “It’s something that we both have always looked forward to – we’re three years apart so we only have the one year of being in the same school together. It’s nice to be together with her during the soccer season. It’s probably one of my favorite memories, just having her on the team. We’ve always been close. She’s my best friend. Playing together has always been something I’ve wanted.”
“Emerson is a starting fullback, one of my central defenders playing in the middle and Reese is one of my strikers up top. And one of my expected goal scorers. She can be dangerous around the net. She hasn’t put any in the back of net just yet but that comes from a team issue as we’re trying to get the ball up forward a little bit more. Emerson is very strong, but quiet on the field and solid defender,” said Murphy.
Ava, Delia Buchman
Ava and Delia have two older siblings who graduated from high school in the the past two years. Their sister, Haley, played soccer at G-D is now a member of the rowing team at Holy Cross, following her mother, who did the same. Delia said growing up she always felt like she was in Ava’s shadow, until recently when she went from being a field player to goalie.
“Ava’s amazing.When I was younger, and before I became a goalie, I was always compared to her. I played on the town teams with her I think for a couple of seasons. I love watching her play. When she plays, she’s just so confident with what she is doing and she’s just that good,” Delia said. “I’m kind of happy that (I was compared to her), it kind of helped me work harder. Becoming a goalie and having my own goalie standard, as opposed to her striker standard, it helped me become a more confident goalie.”
Delia has played in a handful of varsity games as a keeper and Murphy said she has a lot of potential.
“She’s technically sound, but just needs some more (varsity) time,” said Murphy.
Ava leads the team in points.
“We have moved Ava up front to be a striker and we’re trying to get some goals out of her. I believe she is our top point getter right now. She had two goals the other day,” said Murphy. “Between Ava and Delia, it’s a fun mix with one being a forward and one being a goalie. They get to face each other in practice all of the time and that’s a lot of fun.”
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