The Day's All-Area Field Hockey Player of the Year: Stonington's Nora Walsh
Dec. 22—The Stonington High School field hockey team had to run a timed mile-and-a-half during the preseason and the players were required to break 12 minutes.
And then there was senior forward Nora Walsh.
"I didn't make the cutoff," Walsh said. "I was over by like 30 seconds."
And yet the enduring memory of Stonington's season has to be Walsh's speed on the fast break, causing panic for opposing defenses. She was repeatedly out ahead of virtually everyone, finishing the season with 26 goals and 13 assists and being named to the Class S all-state team.
The personable Walsh is The Day's 2023 All-Area Field Hockey Player of the Year.
"That's a new development," Walsh said of her penchant for the fast break. "I don't know where it came from. I've always been slow. Where does it come from? That's a good question. In practice, I'm always just pushing. It wasn't a conscious thing."
"It was a breakout year for her," Stonington coach Jenna Tucchio said. "I don't know if it was being a senior. She had done all the offseason training, the camaraderie, it gave her the right platform to burst out to have that breakout season. (Last year) she didn't stand out as an all-star; she didn't have that star quality. This year I started calling her 'Nora the Scora.' It was just fun watching her."
Stonington finished 16-3-1 overall, 11-0-1 in the Eastern Connecticut Conference.
The Bears were ECC regular-season and tournament champs and reached the semifinals of the Class S state tournament for the third straight season.
Walsh, whose freshman year came in the midst of the COVID-19-altered season, played in two state finals during her career, which she hopes to continue at the collegiate level.
It was her parents, Leslie and Andrew, who she claims coerced her into playing field hockey as a freshman. Walsh, who attended St. Michael School in Pawcatuck, a small Catholic school, said she knew only about four other students when she arrived at Stonington.
She is now friends for life with her fellow seniors on the field hockey team, in particular midfielders Brianna Plew, Megan Harris and Paige Goebel, who sent so many passes ahead to Walsh.
"This year the chemistry was unmatched," Walsh said. "We knew where each other was going to be. It was instinctive. We're really good at communication. Bri will be like, 'Nora!!!!' And she'll give it to me. She's amazing. I admire her so much. Paige and Megan, all of our midfielders are fantastic. Our mids do a lot of the hard work."
Walsh's first recollections of field hockey are a blur. She knows she came off the bench for the junior varsity team as a freshman but believes she got called up to be a part of the varsity sideline later on.
That she went on to be one of the team's most iconic scorers — Tucchio mentions her in the same breath as dynamic all-time leading scorer Molly Crowley — is a credit to the success of the Stonington program, Walsh said. The Bears won their 15th straight ECC regular-season title.
"The Stonington field hockey program is amazing," Walsh said. "I never would have this kind of recognition without the coaches. (Tucchio) definitely took the time to make sure we knew what we were doing. She comes to practice with notes from watching film. We're set up to make success possible."
Walsh is undecided where she'll attend college but hopes to major in political science. She is president of the Spanish Honor Society — both her parents are Spanish teachers — and historian for the National Honor Society. She also plays for the Bears' girls' lacrosse team.
Walsh, who never expected to play field hockey, was inconsolable following Stonington's 1-0 loss to Canton in the Class S semis, which concluded her career. She shouldered the blame for what was the Bears' first time being shut out this season.
In that moment, Tucchio tried to remind her of all she had accomplished.
"I was talking about how much her teammates loved her and admired her, what a leader she was," Tucchio said. "How we love them and we care about them and they did a great job. We left it on the field.
"... Nora has good, explosive speed. She's so talented, she can execute her skills at a high rate of speed, run at a natural sprint but she can handle the ball at that speed. She's fast."
The Day's 2023 All-Area Field Hockey Team
Player of the Year — Nora Walsh (Stonington)
Forward — Izzy Ash (Fitch), Anna Lettiere (Stonington)
Midfield — Ada Ellis (Fitch), Gracie Lloyd (East Lyme), Brooke Ouellette (Westbrook-Old Lyme), Brianna Plew (Stonington)
Defense — Shay Burnside (Stonington), Zofia Maziarz (East Lyme), Eimy Novillo (Westbrook-Old Lyme), Alice Rourke (NFA)
G — Esme Carlebach (Fitch)
Utility — Kate Erikson (East Lyme), Sam Silva (Waterford)
