AnnMarie DiNicola has loved soccer from the time she started playing and her passion for the sport led to her becoming one of the leaders for the Yellowjackets’ girls’ soccer team. This year, AnnMarie was named a captain for East Haven and it was a role that the senior defender felt she thrived in.

“The fact of knowing I’m a role model to my teammates and they look up to me was an overall great moment,” says AnnMarie. “It was my job to make sure everybody was on the same level and happy. We all try to make everybody happy, but I know it’s tough with just a limited number of spots on the field.”

AnnMarie came to the high school team as a midfielder. She played outside midfielder as a freshman, was a defensive midfielder in her sophomore year, and then moved to central defender for the last two seasons. AnnMarie feels that the move to defense suited her well.

“I believe I was stronger there overall as a player,” she says. “I definitely put in a lot of hard work because it’s a different position, so you have to know the different style and where you’re supposed to be. I was playing there during a summer league and I think my coach saw my capability of playing there and made the move for high school.”

Yellowjackets’ Head Coach Ray Curren made the right call as AnnMarie was a two-time All-Division player on the defensive end.

“She definitely held everything together back there, but this year was tough on her. As a captain, she stayed positive and played hard until the very end. She got hurt against Lyman Hall and probably shouldn’t have played on Senior Night, but she gutted it out for her last game, and that’s kind of indicative of who she was as a player,” Curren says. “I think she was always there backing up. It’s hard to count how many mistakes she covered for. It’s a benefit of her speed and how she reads the game.”

AnnMarie recognized her ability to back up her teammates defensively and took great pride in playing the position—which is one of the reasons why she was so effective.

“I like the enjoyment of knowing that I helped save goals. It’s pretty satisfying,” AnnMarie says. “As a central defender, you’re supposed to help your teammates around you, direct them, and help them with where they’re supposed to be. It’s definitely important because you’re supposed to cover your teammates. You’re not going to have a perfect game, so having someone to back up is important.”

AnnMarie’s previous experience in the midfield was essential for her to have a balanced skill-set on defense. She wasn’t one to just fire the ball up the field when it hit her foot. Instead, she strategically passed the ball to an outlet player, so the team could work it into the attacking zone.

“It definitely helped with my foot skill. Being an outside mid helped with my speed to run up and down the field to get to where I needed to be to keep up with the opposing forwards,” says AnnMarie. “I was also there to play the ball and look for an open teammate in transition.”

AnnMarie’s favorite memory as a member of the East Haven girls’ soccer team came as a junior last year, when she and her teammates set the program’s record for wins in a season.

“I would say it was one of the greatest times of my life,” AnnMarie says. “We proved people wrong. We’re a good team and played well together. We showed the state that we do have the talent here in East Haven.”