RallyNorth.net

Determined Clippers duo won't be denied

Thursday, November, 08 By John Shimer
Staff writer

The soccer god of health has not favored Colleen Coviello and especially Shannon Fitzgerald in the recent past, but this year the senior duo have recovered to play pivotal roles in the success of the Newburyport girls soccer team, which has advanced to the Division 3 North semifinals.

For Coviello, last season started off quite promising, with a team on the verge of a special season, and she was starting at coach Robb Gonnam's outside forward position, doing quite well. Then in the blink of an eye everything was taken away. She dislocated her knee in September and the season was lost after she was placed in an immobilizing cast.

The path back to the varsity team was even more challenging for Fitzgerald. After a spectacular freshman year (Fitzgerald was the first freshman Gonnam ever nominated for a CAL All-Star selection), she suffered a severe ankle sprain in her sophomore campaign. Eventually the injury would require surgery, but that particular surgery did not get the job done. A second surgery was required and Fitzgerald ended up missing close to a year of action waiting for the ankle to heal properly.

Then came junior year, last season, and finally it seemed Fitzgerald was ready to get back in gear. Then an early season concussion against Triton cost her nearly two weeks of soccer. Once back from the first concussion, a second more severe concussion again prematurely ended another year of Fitzgerald's high school career.

Injuries to both that could have been career threatening did not keep either player down, cheering on their teammates when on the bench at every practice and every game before working their way back to vital roles on a team marching through the state tournament yet again this season.

"It was upsetting and I felt left out that I could not contribute to our team, but I loved watching," Coviello said of the feelings after her injury. "But, I realized I could help nearly as much cheering from the sidelines, showing support, as I actually could by playing."

After returning from two years off, Fitzgerald said there was still the fear that something could go wrong again. "At the beginning of the season I did worry about my head, and shied away from some head balls," Fitzgerald said. "But with time, things started to come more naturally, and my focus on the game helped me to overcome any lingering fear."

For coach Gonnam, courage and maturity are two characteristics he said the two have demonstrated above all else in their road back to the varsity team. "To me it is quite courageous to come back from such emotional injuries, knowing that your next step could be your last," Gonnam commented on the will power of his two starting seniors. "There had to be some hesitation in the beginning; after all, they are only 17 years old. But as the season has progressed, you can that their natural playing instincts are back to the days of old.

"It also takes a great deal of maturity as individuals first and athletes second, coming back onto an exceptional team with lots of depth after a long layoff because they had to have some reservation about where they would fit in," Gonnam said. "They both know I tend to put kids in that get the job done regardless of whether that player is a freshman or a senior."

Heading into the season Gonnam knew he would have to count on his two seniors the way things began to shape up in preseason. There was a gaping hole that need to be filled at central midfielder when former captain Eileen Ryan graduated. And as things worked out, the defense was ravaged by injuries to Grace Curry (ACL tear), Taylor Whitehill (broken foot) and Hannah McCormick, not to mention their other graduated captain, Leanne Paparella.

"This was a matter of we need you, your experience, your speed, and your maturity, and now what can you offer us," Gonnam said. "There was never really another option, and they have both helped themselves and our team in the process."

So he slotted Coviello to fill Ryan's shoes in central midfield and Fitzgerald to anchor the back.

Coviello has become the disciplined central midfielder holding down the fort and often stopping opposing teams' best players (i.e., Amanda Webster last game). Fitzgerald has become Gonnam's "field general" (one of the five or six smartest players he says he has ever coached), helping to move the ball up the field with smart passes from the back, while also coordinating the defense.

"Their impact has been immeasurable," Gonnam said. "It is easy replacing positions from year to year, especially when you have a deep system. The hard part is replacing the leadership. You can get a good player, but that doesn't mean that player commands the respect and equally good play of the players around them.

"The special skill and extra ingredient that makes good players like Colleen and Shannon great is leadership," Gonnam finished. "I will certainly miss them next year."