CLARK, NJ- You know as they say, Better Late Than Never! With the Johnson Crusaders field hockey season concluding on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 with a 1-0 loss to Shore Regional HS, the program says farewell to five seniors who excelled day-in and day-out each day of their high school field hockey careers.
Here’s one final look at the 2017 season and some of my thoughts of the season and on the seniors.
Seniors:
#2- Amy Wysocki (C)
#17- Shelby Lynes
#28- Emma Francisco (C)
#29- Danielle Nugent
#55- Jessica Lopez (C)
I can remember going to the opening practice, to get myself set up for a preview story with the season coming right around the corner. I had already known a good portion of the players, so I was excited to work with them. Head coach Katrina Poskay always has her girls working hard on the field, with all the drills, stick work and passing drills.
The season started on Thursday, September 7, when the Crusaders took on Hillsborough HS, a game where they were going to get the type of competition needed to be able to get back to where they finished their 2016 season, where they went 16-4-1 and won the conference championship.
The team only lost two starters from that 2016 team, meaning most of the team had the experience and they were only going to see players gain more, to fill in the two vacant starting spots. In a game where the battle of the defense was featured, Johnson got goals from sophomore Emma Hilton and Wysocki. The ending of the second half, I can remember, was a fast-paced game that Johnson was able to gut out.
After getting a few other wins in the books, the Crusaders took down powerhouse Kent Place HS, who was ranked No. 13 on NJ.com’s Top 20 at one point. I can remember my thoughts leading to Monday, when they update the list. I can instantly remember my phone ringing a few times when I woke up. It came with great news, Johnson was ranked No. 20 in the state!
While it didn’t last long, I felt that was worth reading more on, especially with the strong defensive unit they had that features both Wysocki and Lopez, along with junior mid Amanda Zambrana, sophomore back Heidi Compton and sophomore mid Taylor Turek as they locked out the opposition from reaching the back of the net.
Their first two losses came to powerhouse programs in Oak Knoll and West Essex, while they took control of every aspect of their competition. The hard work and numbers were great and when the 2017 Union County Tournament began, they clinched the No. 2 seed, earning them a bye all the way up to the semifinals round, which wouldn’t be until Saturday, October 14.
While I wasn’t there, I received word they gutted it out and held off Kent Place HS by a final score of 3-2 in penalty strokes to advance to the 2017 Union County Tournament Finals. It was the first time they appeared in the final since 2009. Next up was the Senior Night game against Millburn on Monday, October 16.
“Being apart of JFH means being unified,” Wysocki said. “As a team we are always supporting each other as well as other teams. It’s almost second nature to be cheering people on once you become apart of Johnson field hockey.”
“My favorite memory would have to be our unbelievable bond that we shared on and off the field,” Lopez said. “We were genuinely best friends. We shared many laughs and tears and went through a lot of things together that brought us closer.”
“These girls have had a tremendous impact on my life and I don’t think that we could have gotten as far as we did if we weren’t as close as we were.”
“This year in particular really just seemed like a roller coaster of emotions throughout the season, but I think we kind of expected to be good,” Francisco said. “We’ve been training for years to get Johnson field hockey back where it’s supposed to be and I think we were just very relieved and happy to end on such an exceptional note.”
“We’ve put so much work since freshmen year preparing for this year and I know everyone was proud.”
“I really never experienced anything that’s been the team that Johnson field hockey is,” Nugent said following the Senior Night game. “I love these girls with all my heart. They’ve been amazing and it’s been an amazing experience.”
“I’m so lucky to have spent these past four years with my amazing friends,” Lynes said after the Senior Night win. “I’m grateful to be able to call my team a family.”
They played their hearts out in the game that followed, a 7-0 victory that clinched the conference championship for the Crusaders for the second straight season, another accolade for this group of seniors that head coach Katrina Poskay praised when asked how much it meant to her to coach this group since they began playing at Johnson.
“[It’s been] my absolute pleasure [coaching these five seniors],” Poskay said after the Senior Night game. “Every step of the way, every inch of the way, every minute of the day, I could not love those girls more.”
It was an amazing night for field hockey, especially with the standing ovation Emma Francisco received.
They took the field for the Union County Tournament Final. Although they lost by a final score of 6-1 on Oak Knoll, the girls were able to score a goal on an Oak Knoll team that, according to Coach Poskay at the field hockey dinner on Thursday, December 7, 2017, were the only Union County field hockey team to score on them. I was personally amazed by this, since Oak Knoll is nationally ranked in the country.
The Pink-Out game against Newark Academy was a nice send-off to the regular season before the state tournament began. Although this one had a lot more significance and meaning to it.
Emma Francisco, a co-captain and the team’s goaltender, saw her mother get diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in the year, but about one week prior to the team’s Senior Night game, she was officially cancer free. Upon hearing she beat the disease, I felt a huge wave of relief, not for me, but for Emma, who’s played her heart out game after game.
“This game meant a lot to me,” Emma Francisco said. “I played for my mom today. I’m just so thankful she’s okay now. Cancer hits a lot of people. I’m just happy my mom’s okay and my team played for her and my team was here for me the whole time.”
Adversity does unfortunately deliver tough spots during a season and although she may have given up a few goals along the way, she was like a Martin Brodeur in a different game of hockey.
Danielle Nugent had been playing with a heavy heart in mid-October when her grandmother passed away.
Emma and Danielle were both playing and leading their team and they continued to play with a lot of heart and passion with the adversities dealt during the season.
In the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 state tournament, Johnson was the fourth-seeded team in the bracket. They easily handled Keyport in the first round by a final score of 9-0 to set up a matchup with fifth-seeded Metuchen, a team that only suffered their only loss and tie at the hands of South Plainfield.
I remember how frigid that night became and how back-and-forth the night became. There weren’t any major chances reaching the back of the net. Johnson broke through with game’s opening goal to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. As the second half went along, no goals were being scored and both goaltenders were really putting on a clinic.
Metuchen got back in net with a goal, coming with about 11 minutes left to play in regulation. The clock ran out, meaning overtime was going to decide who would be moving on to the sectional semifinals. The first overtime period showed nothing, so double overtime was needed.
I knew instantly that if Johnson was going to win the game, it was going to be at the far left side of the field, so I remember just running over there and immediately hitting the record button on my phone. I tracked the movement and saw Shelby Lynes with the ball in her possession. She made a cross-pass to Danielle Nugent, who flipped the ball on the field hockey stick and I felt this sudden sense it might have went in.
I instantly saw Danielle leap into the air and the bleachers were going crazy. They had captured the win in stunning fashion, perhaps one of the best games I feel like I’ve covered. She scored 11 goals since she lost her grandmother, which was simply amazing to watch.
“I would say it was definitely a combination of both,” Nugent said of the Metuchen game. “It was a very intense game and all of my teammates and I were giving it our all and I think all of our hard work definitely paid off, and being able to finish out such a great play and being able to manipulate the defence to get the ball in the cage was such an exciting experience.”
“It all started in the back, they passed the ball,” Nugent said. “They just had a pass go up here and then Shelby [Lynes] was able to use her speed to take it down and carve it and she sent it over just in time and I was able to hit it in.”
It felt like something I’d seen, like a New Jersey Devils playoff game where a dramatic overtime goal was scored to send the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012, which is what Danielle’s goal did for Johnson.
“I would say I really wanted to end with a bang being that I didn’t score much my past years playing as a forward,” Nugent added. “I was working really hard to make up for lost time and contribute to the on going success of my team in any way I could.”
Shore is a powerhouse field hockey program that had beaten Johnson 2-1 in double overtime last year, so there was the feel they could gain revenge for that with a win that Wednesday. For the entire first half, Shore got ball movement and chances, but through all the chaos, the game was scoreless at halftime.
As the second half began, it took just one chance to give Shore the 1-0 win. It was deflating watching the girls walk off the field following this loss. You hate to see a great group of seniors watch their season end in the semifinals round again, but they set the stage for the program in later years.
My Thoughts:
I honestly believe that this season was another successful one for the program as a whole. The girls have shown a great work ethic in each and every game they played as the season went along. The girls finished with a 17-4-1 record and a second consecutive conference championship, outscoring their opponents 80-27, with 19 of those goals coming in the two games against Oak Knoll, West Essex and Shore, all national powerhouse field hockey programs.
The coaches did a great job with the players and the players gave everything they had in every game, whether if that meant blocking hard shots, pressuring on the net or taking a hit or anything like that for the team. They gave me great things to write about and great games to watch.
Thoughts on the 2017 Seniors:
#2- Amy Wysocki (C)
I had already known Amy through the basketball days, but never really got to experience watching field hockey until I was able to get more coverage as this season came around the corner. She was a really good and smart defender, who could strike for a goal when most aren’t expecting it to come.
She was also a great kid, especially always being willing to give an interview or answer a question, even after a tough game or afterwards, asking her about an upcoming game, or trying to spread positive stuff, or trying to get the players excited of what was to come in a game that awaited. Although defenders aren’t primarily scorers, Amy always brought both of those values to every game and practice.
It must have felt great to score the game-winning goal in the home opener against Hillsborough HS, which she did in the later portions of the second half.
The funniest part was, out of all the field hockey parents I had spoken to at parts of the season, her parents were the ones I really hadn’t spoken to during the season, but got to know them at the field hockey dinner and there’s the basketball season to look forward to.
Sometimes, about covering high school sports, getting the experience in writing and reporting is always what one reporter, myself in this case, strives to do, but the best part is the people you meet along the way. It basically comes down to the matter that if there are no game stories or statistics of what went on in a game or a season, that question comes to mind: “Did It Even Happen?”
That’s when the reporters come in and take care of that so that memories can be looked back on and the athletes can have things to reflect upon in their later years of life.
Thank You #2 and I wish her the best in the future!
#17- Shelby Lynes
I hadn’t known Shelby all that well, but she was a fast and good field hockey player who always made a big play on the field that usually always was the difference of how a play was executed successfully or not. I do remember recording on the double overtime goal that was scored by Danielle Nugent, she made a play and had great hustle with the ball and passed it at the right time for the play to happen and that set the crowd and players in celebration of the goal.
I had known her older brother Shane, since he graduated with my younger brother, Ryan, but got to know her as the season went along. I had to give her credit for trying to play through the broken finger she sustained in October. She played hard every game.
I wish #17 the best of luck in her future after high school!
#28- Emma Francisco (C)
Oh, where can I get started as I type about Emma Francisco and the fantastic career she had as Johnson field hockey goalie? Well, let’s start with the 2016 season, when I started to get some field hockey coverage under my belt. She was a really great field hockey goaltender. I’ve said it before, it’s almost like watching a Martin Brodeur on the field, just a different game of hockey.
Emma Francisco isn’t your average field hockey goalie, she was really a goaltender who was, at most times, tough to crack during the games. As you see in the picture above, she was never afraid to make a sprawling save or be able to stop the ball from getting past her if there are several players and defenders right up at the crease and goal area.
I remember the 2016 double overtime loss to Shore, hearing that she literally played out her mind, stopping the powerful Shore offense until they put it away with the game-winning goal. Although the end result wasn’t a win, that, to me, shows she’s willing to fight and do whatever it took to help her team set up for an opportunity for a win.
She was always great to ask a question for a game story, or dropping a message about thoughts of an upcoming game or opponent that was on the schedule.
When I heard the news of her mother getting sick, I remember the small pit in my stomach I felt, terrible for her and her family with what was happening. Despite that, she still played at the level she displayed her junior year and previous years, especially in the games when everything was on the line.
Everything couldn’t have played out the best way it did. Emma was playing on her game all season long, things were on the upswing as well. As the Senior Night game rolled around, she got a standing ovation when the starters were removed and after the postgame interview, she told me her mother beat the cancer. I couldn’t think of any other better sequence to play out than that.
The Pink-Out game that followed a week later was dedicated for her mom and as always, Emma played her heart out on the field. Her quote on the game itself, which you’d see above, really stood out for me, it was powerful, showing that no one gave up during the battle and with a lot of support, the battle was won!
The loss to Shore in the sectional semifinals was devastating, but she made 43 saves and only allowed one goal! If you had to find a positive takeaway from that, she is capable of competing against the toughest competition in the state.
I also enjoyed getting to know her mother and watching her play, which I will miss as I continue to cover high school field hockey. Thank You #28 and I wish her the best in the future!
These were her final career numbers:
-659 saves
-30 shutouts
-8th Goalie in New Jersey after her senior year
-Four Years as Goaltender
#29- Danielle Nugent
As the season began, I saw Danielle Nugent as someone who was very capable to score a ton of goals if given the opportunities to do so on the field. The 9-0 blowout win over Governor Livingston is where she recorded her first hat trick of the season.
As the season moved along, she always made the plays needed for her team to succeed. I can remember talking to her following one game where she mentioned how amazing it was to see how the program had evolved from her freshman year, after the Pink-Out game.
“We’ve been playing amazing this year and it’s crazy to see how we’ve evolved since my freshman year,” Nugent said. “We’ve come so far and have put in so much hard work and being coached by Coach Poskay is great. Our success is the product of all the hard work we’ve been putting in.”
After everything happened with her grandmother’s passing, there was a massive boost in her offensive statistics in the games that followed. I felt terrible for her family having to deal with this right around the Senior Night game, which she played well in.
I also had the chance to meet her parents and just talk usually before each game, give thoughts of the play that transpired on the field, etc.
She recorded her second hat trick that night, in a 7-0 win over Millburn.
Danielle scored 11 goals since the Senior Night game, including the hat trick she recorded that night!
She also rose to the occasion when the state tournament began, especially in the quarterfinals matchup, where Johnson played their best on defense when the offensive chances couldn’t quite come through for them.
In double overtime against Metuchen, I saw Danielle moving into the Metuchen zone and the exact minute she received Shelby Lynes’ pass, I saw her start to jump in the air, an indicator that it might have reached the back of the net.
My phone was immediately on the record option, so I knew I wasn’t going to miss this one. To this day, I was lucky I was able to get into the spot and record the video, something I had seen the other writers do at games they’ve covered. That postgame interview, although it sounded like everyone was out of breath, was an indicator of how she really played for her teammates and continued tearing it up on the field was simply amazing.
As my game story from that night was posted, the first thing I did was share the video so it would be posted with my story and it really all fit in well together. There couldn’t have been a much better, or nerve-racking, in simple terms for anyone who was a parent, coach or player to have the stage set up for someone to be the one to step up to the plate.
She played for her family and her grandmother, which is always a great part of an athlete who may be dealing with tough times, that they’re able to come through in the big situations that give their teams an opportunity to get a goal or make a big defensive play to stop the competition that they face.
She finished the season with 21 goals, with 11 of them coming in those final two weeks of the season. My take, she went out on a high note, since not many teams reach the sectional semifinals, with these seniors being a part of two consecutive trips to that round in their high school field hockey careers.
I still have the video on my phone and play it a few times, especially in slow-motion up to the moment where the game-winning goal was scored and the bounces on the field are the ones that’ll always help a team get the goals needed within the games.
Definitely a great season and wishing #29 the best of luck in whatever comes her way in the future!
#55- Jessica Lopez (C)
I hadn’t known Jess too well as the season began, but graduated with her sister, Desiree, so I sort of got to know who Jess was when seeing her sister at the games.
As a defender, they don’t seem to get recognition as much as scorers, but Jess was a leader on the defense, along with Amy. She had one goal and dished out four assists on the year, but the defensive work is what matters more when you look back at the games as the season rolled along.
She was the Team MVP at the Fall Sports Awards, capping off an impressive career for her. I have to also give her, Amy and Emma credit. I have no idea how any of them managed to get through the field hockey dinner without tears, when they were bidding farewell to not just the sport of high school field hockey, but saying farewell to their second family because being part of a team also makes you part of a family atmosphere with the teammates.
“This team is like a family and I think that translated onto the field,” Lopez added. “Since we trusted each other to have our backs in school and in life, we trusted each other to be there for us in the game, which allowed a lot of fluidity and communication to present itself in our play.”
I wish #55 the best in the future!
-Summarization of the 2017 Season:
-17-4-1 record
-2017 Essex/Union White Division Conference Champions
-2017 Union County Tournament Finals Runner-Up
-Broke Oak Knoll’s shutout of Union County with a goal in the county final
-Second straight trip to the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 Semifinals
The 2018 captains were named, with Alyssa Colicchio, Kaylee Parkhill and Amanda Zambrana taking over the reins of the departing seniors.
What more can I say? This was a great group of not just seniors, but leaders and mentors for the underclassmen who will take over the roles left by them as preparation for next season rolls around. It feels great being part of the ride, meeting new people in the season and just being there, covering their careers and doing a lot of good things not just for myself, but for the players and their families!
