MILLBROOK- Teams often come to regard themselves as families.

The analogy is apropos, as in both instances, people share a common base, interact with one another on a daily basis and come to rely on one another. Sharing and contributing are integral aspects of family life. But no two families are the same, nor are teams for that matter, especially when it comes to a degree of unity.

In some families or teams, there can be stridency and divisiveness that manifests in rivalry, jealousy, selfishness and harsh words. Those negative tendencies not only disrupt any potential harmony, but they adversely impact what should be shared goals of people who ought to be close knit.

But when it came to the 2021 Sullivan West girls’ soccer team, those negative forces were nowhere to be seen.

This was, in every sense, an ideal family. With great chemistry, close friendships, unselfish play and unified effort, the team posted a 9-3-1 record with their only losses coming against S.S. Seward (twice) and this semifinal game against Millbrook. The loss to the Lady Blazers was not a result of lack of effort. They were simply outplayed by a superior squad comprised of a core of travel team players abetted by others who, even without that year-round experience, worked hard and diligently to learn the fine points of the game from the veterans and from their savvy coach, Jerome Canzoneri. He has coached virtually every level from youth to varsity and premiere. He has an exceptional understanding of the game, evident from his supportive and savvy advice from the sidelines.

The Blazers defeated Sullivan West in 2017, a year after the Lady Westies beat Millbrook 1-0 in a semifinal, after which the Lady Bulldogs went on to defeat Webutuck 2-0 for their first-ever Section IX championship. Millbrook’s deft play was evident from the outset, demonstrated by the cohesive movement of its players, their passing skills and their alert field sense. They were never out of position and always just a step away from helping one another. There were some epic battles for 50/50 balls in the midfield, where Sullivan West standouts Grace Boyd and Viola Shami tried their best to hold sway.

Keeper Riley Ernst staved off 13 shots, but the overall pressure put on by Millbrook resulted in five unanswered goals. With 7:27 gone by, senior Kaleigh Tompkins took a feed from fellow senior Stefanie DeMan for the early 1-0 lead. Psychologically speaking, that had to affect the Lady Westies who were hoping to advance to the finals to get another crack at Seward who they anticipated would beat Rhinebeck in the other semifinal.

But Millbrook’s defense was superb and Sullivan West, which has had its problems finding the net this season managed just 13 shots, ten of which were on goal. That was about half of what Millbrook marshalled with 26 shots, 18 on goal, five of which flew into the net. Millbrook got two more goals in the first period including a solo by junior Emily Grasseler with 32:52 gone by and another by Tompkins with an assist from senior Eleena Francia just seven seconds before the end of the period. With 9:49 gone by in the second period, junior Hudson Heitmann made it 4-zip and Tompkins worked the hat trick with her third strike at 25:08.

In his comments to the team following the loss, Coach Anthony Durkin who will be retiring this year declared that this was the best team he had coached in terms of their chemistry, the way they got along well and worked together. As to this game’s outcome he added, “We struggled the last couple of weeks to find the net. We scouted them and practiced against everything they did in the game. We scouted and they still got by us.” Durkin didn’t feel that playing on the turf was a problem. “They love it,” he said. They did play on turf once this season in Middletown with a win over the Lady Middies. He concluded by saying, “I think we played our hardest. They’re a good team.” Millbrook improved to 13-2. Their only losses came against powerful Mount Academy, a strong contender for a state title in Class D. One of those losses was an overtime loss. After Millbrook advanced to the Section IX title by beating Sullivan West, they lost 2-1 in overtime to Seward. For a few of the Westies, it’s on to basketball where they hope to make sectionals and raise some serious noise by season’s end.