'All about chemistry.' College-bound Hopkinton girls soccer trio bring sisters into fold
HOPKINTON – The bonds are close and international.
Georgina “Georgie” Clark’s family was raised on Premier League fútbol. Her father, Simon, is from the United Kingdom; her grandfather played for Everton; the Clarks root for Liverpool.
Juliana “Jules” Grontzos is of Greek descent and has visited the country twice.
Nina Tzouganatous, a cousin of Grontzos and also of Greek heritage, has not traveled internationally. But the reserved Hopkinton junior lights up when the subject of Barcelona comes up. That’s Lionel Messi’s former La Liga team.
“Our whole family’s a big Messi fan,” Tzouganatous said, adding that she’s hoping the Argentine legend will be coming to Gillette Stadium soon when his Inter Miami side plays the Revolution.
But Miami has already made its one visit to Gillette, in June, six weeks before Messi made his Major League Soccer debut.
Disappointment aside, there are other commonalities for the Hopkinton trio: all three have younger sisters on the team; and each will play soccer in college.
“Having a team is all about chemistry,” says Clarke, a senior. “Having siblings makes the chemistry closer on the field.”
“We’ve made that one of our priorities from the beginning of the season – getting close as a team – and having three sets of siblings gives us a head start,” said Grontzos, also a senior. “But a lot of us have grown up together and played on the same team. We already have a lot of that team chemistry, so it’s just seeing how much we can grow from there.”
Clarke, whose sophomore sister Alex is on the team, will play at Boston College after earning Tri-Valley League MVP and all-New England honors last season. Grontzos, a returning TVL All-Star, is joined by sister Fotini and is heading to Connecticut College next year. Tzouganatous, an Eastern Mass. All-Star last year and a junior, is headed to Boston University in 2025. Her sister, Sophia, is a freshman.
Hopkinton begins season with 4-0 record
The Hillers are off to a 4-0 start, part of a difficult three weeks to begin the season. They defeated Medfield, 2-0, Tuesday behind goals from Mairin O'Connor and Clarke and play at rival Holliston, which lost to Medfield 3-2 on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 8. Before September ends, Hopkinton plays Dover-Sherborn (3-0) and Algonquin, one of two teams to defeat the Hillers in last year’s regular season. The Titans were Division 1 state finalists a year ago.
Clarke will be joining a Boston College program that includes players from Germany, Canada and Iceland. She has visited the UK twice with her family and has enjoyed witnessing Europe’s obsession with its national sport.
“It’s been really cool to see the experience and how people revolve their lives around soccer,” she said.
Closer to home in soggy Massachusetts, Hopkinton is one of the premier teams in the region. With Juliana Grontzos, Purdue-bound Brooke Birtwistle, Stephanie Johnson and Jo DuPont captaining the team, the Hillers may have enough talent to reach the state title match for the first time since 2018.
A team full of talent – and sisters – may get the job done. How big of a role does sibling rivalry play? Even in the backyard?
“It’s definitely competitive,” Juliana Grontzos said of matching up with her sister. “But in a good way.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Hopkinton girls soccer trio bring international flair, sisters to team
