South field hockey finally betters North
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Almost from the first moment that Sara Burnosky met her West Windsor-Plainsboro South field hockey teammates in the summer, she was introduced to their rivalry.
”I came in and automatically everyone told me our main goal would be to be able to beat North,” said Burnosky, who moved from outside Detroit to West Windsor this year.
The junior goalkeeper shut out the Knights for more than 70 minutes before Carolina Echeverri scored off a feed from Laura McCormick to give the Pirates a 1-0 win on Monday, their first win over the Knights since 2000 when the schools first split.
”We’re all so excited,” said Burnosky, who made seven saves. “We were pumped on the bus ride back. We got the pig back. We have a pig we share. North had it for (seven) years and they spray painted it blue. We’re going to paint in green.”
The Pirates would have been sorely disappointed if they didn’t pull out the win. They had more corners and more shots on goal than the Knights, who fell to 3-6-1.
”For them to end that era and also it was such a hard-fought game was big,” said Pirates head coach Christine Cabarle, whose team improved to 3-6-2 with the win. “They got to experience what it feels like to fight together and win together. It’s going to be a turning point in our season.”
In a season of ups and downs for the Pirates, Monday’s win was the biggest up yet. It was their second straight overtime game after they had to complete a game against Steinert when one of the umpires was injured during the originally scheduled game. They finished in a tie with Steinert. On the heels of that, the Pirates had to play their archrival.
”We went into it, we were really pumped,” Burnosky said. “We know if we come out and play our A game, we know what we’re capable of. We tried to leave it all on the field for our goal. That’s what we accomplished.”
Winning in overtime made it all the more special. The Pirates felt well prepared when the game went to overtime.
”I think any team would want to win in regular time,” Burnosky said. “It just proves we’re in great shape thanks to our coaches. We’re always ready for overtime. We practice like we’re going to play overtime every game. We’re always thinking we have one more sprint in us. There’s always something left. We always have one more to do when we think we’re tired.”
That conditioning was beneficial as it wasn’t easy for either team to score through more than 70 minutes of action. With each growing minute in the scoreless tie, the importance of scoring — and conversely for Burnosky, not allowing a goal — increased.
”You can never let yourself get lax,” Burnosky said. “You have to be on edge constantly and constantly watching the play. It’s nerve-wracking being back there waiting and not being able to do anything (offensively) to help.”
Burnosky has done plenty to help the Pirates this season at the defensive end. She came to WW-P South after starting her first two years of high school for Ladywood High in Michigan. She was good enough to be named an alternate to a Junior Olympics team this summer, not bad considering her humble beginnings for the former soccer player.
”In Michigan, soccer is a spring sport,” Burnosky said. “Here, they’re the same season so I’ll probably try to do lacrosse. I had no experience coming into high school field hockey. I needed a sport to stay in shape for soccer. Field hockey is definitely my main sport now.”
The Pirates were thrilled to welcome a goalie with Burnosky’s experience and skills. It has helped them shore up one area of concern coming into the year.
”She’s really kept us in a lot of games,” Cabarle said. “Sara moved here from Michigan. She was an alternate on the junior national team. She’s good. She’s legit.
”She’s cat-like. At times, she looks like she’s on ice. It’s not the saves that she makes, it’s the difficulty of the saves she makes.”
Burnosky, who also plays for the New Jersey Intensity club team, wasn’t asked to make any spectacular saves Monday, but she did deliver a shutout in a key spot. It was just what her new teammates needed to break a long streak and achieve a goal set the day she met them.
”From Day One, they made it extremely easy to slide in and get to know everyone,” Burnosky said. “They couldn’t have made it easier.”

