Sophia Gormley was lined up to play on the attack for the Old Saybrook girls’ lacrosse team heading into the 2022 season. Sophia had all of the experience and skills that were necessary to be an effective player on offense, but ultimately moved to the defensive end of the field following an adjustment made by Rams’ Head Coach Dick Shriver. While it was a difficult transition at first, Sophia ultimately found her groove on defense and helped Old Saybrook claim the Shoreline Conference championship this year.

Sophia’s success on defense is even more impressive considering her late arrival to both the sport and the Rams’ program. After playing soccer while growing up in New York, Sophia moved to Old Saybrook for her junior year and was ready to take on a new challenge.

Sophia had participated in a lacrosse camp in middle school and wanted to pursue the sport more seriously after moving to Connecticut. Through her participation in the camp, Sophia started forming a connection with Coach Shriver prior to her time at the high school.

“One summer, I did come up to stay with my aunt in Old Lyme with a friend, and we did a lacrosse camp just out of nowhere. Coach Shriver ends up being the coach at that summer camp,” says Sophia. “Coming back last year and finding out he was my coach for school in Old Saybrook, it was a full-circle moment. I’m definitely meant to be playing lacrosse here.”

Sophia learned a lot about lacrosse while studying under the tutelage of Shriver and his son Rich, who is an assistant coach with the Rams. Sophia admires their coaching style and credits Shriver for encouraging her to play defense instead of on the attack this season.

“This year, we lost a few seniors, and coach needed other people to fill in other positions. I was very skeptical at first, but once I started to play, I ended up liking it so much more and saw that I could have a greater impact on the field from the back,” Sophia says. “It doesn’t seem as much of a glamorous position, but I ended up having a lot more fun back there. That was really credit to [Shriver] for seeing that and making that switch. He stuck with it, even though I resisted.”

Coach Shriver knew that Sophia could excel as a defender. Shriver felt that Sophia’s ability to move the ball up the field quickly after receiving a long pass from goalie Sam Wakelee would prove a huge boon for the Rams this year.

“Sophia hit her niche. She became really good as a defender and an important player on the transitions,” says Shriver. “All of the skills that she had for attack, except for penetrating the defense to score a goal, were employed to a greater advantage for the team.”

Sophia’s success on defense played a key role for an Old Saybrook team that posted a record of 19-2 on its way to winning the Shoreline Conference title and then advancing to the Class S state semifinals. The Rams captured the conference crown by notching a 14-12 victory versus North Branford in the Shoreline final. The win marked Old Saybrook’s first league championship since 2015 and gave Sophia a memory she will never forget from her senior season.

“At the end of the game, we all turned to each other and counted down the last seconds, and then we just sprinted to our goalie. We just knew we were winning it. That cemented the end of the year very nicely, and I’ll always look back and remember that,” Sophia says. “We went out really gracefully. We did have a good season, so I’m very proud of us, and I hope that we can all look back and remember that.”

Sophia learned about what it means to be team player during her two seasons at Old Saybrook. As she continued learning, Sophia exemplified what it means to put your teammates before yourself and the team’s success above your own. Sophia held herself to a high standard while playing a different position this year and delivered on her commitment by putting forth a quality performance on defense.

“Once you’re out there, you’re really playing for those around you and your coaches. Personally, you don’t want to disappoint them. When you make a bad play, you feel worse for what you just caused the team,” says Sophia. “Your actions impact how the entire team does and how your coaches do. Most importantly, because of that dynamic we had, I didn’t want my coaches to be disappointed. I wanted to make them proud of our performance.”

Now that she’s graduated, Sophia will be heading to West Palm Beach in Florida, where she will attend Palm Beach Atlantic University. Sophia is going to study business marketing with hopes of playing soccer and lacrosse at the club level if the opportunity presents itself.

Sophia made major contributions for the Old Saybrook girls’ lacrosse squad during her two-year tenure and did everything could to help the Rams continue their winning tradition. As she moves on to the next step of her life, Sophia knows that she will always cherish the memories she made on the field and the relationships that she created with her teammates along the way.

“I’m really going to miss all of the connections that I’ve made,” Sophia says. “I became friends with some of the girls on the team strictly through lacrosse and wouldn’t have met them any other way.”