After reaching the Division 1 semifinal as the No. 10 seed last fall, Concord-Carlisle returns 16 players from last season’s roster. The Patriots also have multiple newcomers making immediate impacts.
That depth, Fischelis believes, is what makes third-ranked Concord-Carlisle even more dangerous than it was last fall.
“We are much more balanced,” he said.
Senior midfielder Emmy O’Donnell is the headliner. Committed to Duke, she is a returning All-American, last season’s Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year, and a member of the United States under-19 and u-18 women’s national teams.
She has incredible technical skills, tons of speed, and seemingly unlimited stamina.
“It’s almost as if the whole team is playing on one-time speed and she’s on two-times speed,” said senior center back Teagan Graham.
Naturally, O’Donnell draws tons of attention from defenses. At times last fall, the Patriots struggled to score when defenses prevented them from playing through O’Donnell. There are none of those worries this fall.
In four games, the Patriots (4-0) already have seven different goal scorers, with O’Donnell posting four.
“When someone is manmarked, it offers up a lot of space for other people to do things,” said O’Donnell. “With that happening to me, it’s great to see everyone else kind of taking over.”
Senior Ainsley Siefer, committed to Middlebury, is slated to be one of the top scorers after missing last fall’s regular season with a broken foot. When Seifer returned for the postseason, she netted two of Concord-Carlisle’s three playoff goals. A versatile weapon who has experience on the back line, the plan is to play Siefer up top.
“She’s such a technical, skilled player that she can take some pressure off Emmy,” said Fischelis. “One player you can often deal with, but when you have multiple players, that’s a whole different dynamic.”
The Patriots have the flexibility to push her forward thanks to the center back pairing of Graham (Union) and junior Catherine Kilmartin (Boston College). Graham has played outside back the last two seasons for the Patriots, but is moving to center back, where she plays for her club team.
While Kilmartin and Graham are a new center back pairing, the two have chemistry from playing on the same side of the back line the last two seasons. Both players love to get up the field when the opportunity arises, leaving the other responsible for covering those spaces.
“We both have a lot of trust in each other to cover the other person,” Kilmartin said.
Captain Aubrey Monaghan, a four-year starter in goal, provides a reliable safety net.
Junior midfielders Camy Cox and Caroline Ferrari, sophomore forward Annie Beal, and senior cocaptain Kendall Johnson, who is returning from a torn ACL, will also be impact players for the Patriots.
Apart from the talent, Fischelis believes his team’s leadership sets them apart.
“The group of senior leaders, they all bring something different to the table,” he said. “They respect each other for what they bring, and they all encourage each other. That’s a key component to having team success.”
The players also discuss how tightly knit the team is. Many have grown up together, but they also go to a sleepaway camp in New Hampshire for two nights with no cell phones before the season starts to build camaraderie.
As much as that chemistry can lead to on-field success, it’s also about simply cherishing time together.
“My goal for myself and the team is just to have fun doing it,” said O’Donnell. “Just enjoy whatever ride we go on, whether it’s to the state final or whether it’s to who knows where.”
Corner kicks
▪ Katrina Silva (’16) was a two-year captain at Peabody before playing collegiately at Delaware State. She entered coaching at the club level in 2020.
“The whole reason I got into club coaching was to eventually come back to Peabody,” Silva said.
When Andrew Douglass left for Georgetown, Silva interviewed for, and accepted the position.
She described the moment as surreal.
“It’s nostalgic being on the turf and on the grass field where we used to play games,” said Silva, now 28, who said her club coaching allowed her to be fully prepared when the position opened. “It’s a dream come true.”
She earned her first win Monday, 7-0, over Saugus. Through four games, Peabody is 1-2-1. Silva called this season a “transitional year.”
Silva wants the Tanners to play “aggressive Peabody soccer” — finishing in the final third, winning 50-50 battles, and possessing the ball. It’s a major adjustment, Silva says her players are buying in.
“They love the intensity that I’m bringing and the standard that we’re setting for years to come,” she said.
▪ On Friday, United Soccer Coaches announced the high school team academic award winners, honoring teams with a GPA of 3.25 or higher. Of the 90 girls’ teams selected, six represent Eastern Mass.; Martha’s Vineyard, Masconomet, Medford, Oliver Ames, Wayland, and Winchester.
Games to Watch
Thursday, No. 4 Duxbury at No. 13 Hingham, 4 p.m. — The reigning Division 2 champion Dragons will travel to Hingham in a battle of unbeatens in the Patriot League Keenan Division.
Thursday, No. 10 Needham at No. 6 Wellesley, 4 p.m. — The Raiders look for their first win of the season as they host Needham in a cross-division Bay State matchup.
Thursday, No. 16 Braintree at No. 5 Natick, 6 p.m. — These cross-division Bay State rivals met in the Division 1 quarterfinals last season, which the Redhawks won, 3-0.
Thursday, No. 14 Winchester at No. 8 Masconomet, 4:15 p.m. — Sophie Shapiro and the Red & Black take on Maggie Blosser and the Chieftains in a battle of Globe All-Scholastics.
Friday, Abington at No. 17 Cohasset, 4 p.m. — In a crucial South Shore Tobin matchup, the Green Wave travel to Cohasset in a battle of undefeated sides.
Saturday, No. 3 Concord-Carlisle at No. 6 Wellesley, noon — The Patriots travel to Wellesley to face the Raiders in their toughest test of the season thus far.
Correspondent Eli Cloutier contributed to this story.
Henry Dinh-Price can be reached at henry.dinh-price@globe.com.
