Fleming big addition for SWR field hockey
The nucleus of Debi-Michelle Jantzen and Kaitlyn Taddeo remains, but this Shoreham-Wading River field hockey team is relatively inexperienced. The Wildcats have won four straight Suffolk titles, but 2011 was supposed to be a rebuilding year. At 4-0, though, they seem to be putting it together like Lego blocks.
One of the new faces keeping things same ol' is Alyssa Fleming, who had two goals and an assist in the Wildcats' 5-1 win over Southampton on Thursday. Not bad considering she's a first-time field hockey player. Fleming, a defender on the lacrosse team, quickly earned a position as a starting forward and has scored in each of the games.
"It's fun, but my teammates have to help me out a lot," said Fleming, who gets in-game tutorials from teammates and coaches -- mostly about positioning on a particular play.
Fleming used to run cross country in the fall, but some cajoling from a few friends changed her mind entering her senior year. "[Teammate] Lauren Lustgarten taught me the rules and trained me over the summer," Fleming said. "The girls said field hockey is like lacrosse with the ball on the ground."
There are some big differences, though, and not just the number of times the whistle blows. "It's tougher to get the ball around in field hockey," Fleming admitted. "I can't dribble for the life of me. But I'm working on that."
It's a work-in-progress, but coach Lea Caligeros said it's working well.
"I told Alyssa, 'I wish I had you as a ninth-grader,' " the coach said. "She's amazing. I think she has so much athletic ability and that's helped her catch on to the game quickly. She's learning under fire and doing a great job."
Anastasia Williams and Brianna Thomas of St. John the Baptist have both committed to Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Williams, a 6-foot senior center, averaged 9.7 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.2 steals as a junior. She scored double-digits in all five playoff games last season and was a Newsday All-Long Island second team selection.
Thomas, a 5-9 senior guard, averaged 5.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.2 steals last season. She missed several games due to injury and wasn't healthy when she played, dealing with a knee and rib injury.
"She had a great summer," SJB coach Ted Oberg said. "This was the first summer she was 100 percent healthy. I think they both will have great success at FDU."
