Krystin Orrico

                The athletic college sophomore was looking for a competitive sport to play. The coach was in need of girls who wanted to try a new sport and was looking for athletic ability and enthusiasm.  Want met need as Cranford resident Krystin Orrico immediately caught Coach Becky Carlson’s eye at an open tryout and the rest has been history for the nascent program at Quinnipiac College, which led by Orrico is 7-0 in its second varsity season. Orrico, a fullback, leads the team in points and in her most recent game against Hofstra scored 30 points on 15 of 20 conversions. A conversion is attempted after a score and is not akin to an extra point in football because it is not taken from a stationary point.

“She has made an immediate impact with no rugby knowledge prior and has grown into a team leader in the last two seasons,” said Carlson.

                Orrico, a former Cranford High School soccer player was a starter for the 2008 Cougars and was also a successful club player for the Central Jersey Stars, a team made up of Cranford, Scotch Plains and Westfield girls. When she arrived at the bucolic campus in Hamden, CT, Orrico considered trying out for soccer but decided against it.

“I had been injured so many times in high school and club soccer and didn’t want to get injured playing college because it might have impacted my studies,” said Orrico.

                Although she played two years of coed intramural soccer, it did not satiate her competitive juices. Missing the excitement of competitive athletics, Orrico jumped at the chance to attend an open rugby tryout conducted by Carlson, a former rugby star at Eastern Illinois. Only 12 of the 50 girls at the tryout were selected to play for the first Quinnipiac team in 2011, which took its lumps but showed improvement late in a 3-6-1 season.

“Krystin stood out right away with her kicking ability and speed,” said Carlson.

“We didn’t worry about them not knowing about the game. We have done a lot of teaching and Krystin has been an excellent learner,” added Carlson, who in addition to being a spectacular player and successful coach is also an ambassador for the rapidly growing sport, which is often played at a club level.

                Rugby advertises itself as having the grace of soccer, the speed of track and the power of football and according to an NCAA study is just as safe as soccer.  So far this season, there has been only one ankle sprain among the 23 girls on the team. Orrico had her first introduction to rugby from her older brother Bill, who played club rugby at Drew University.

“I was familiar with it from watching my brother play and wanted to try something new. It looked like a fun and challenging sport but playing it has been even better than I expected,” said Orrico, who loves the camaraderie of her team.

“I love the team dynamic most of all. Everybody on the team is relatively new to the game and nobody thinks they are better than anyone else,” said Orrico.

                Orrico’s greatest forte is on conversions where she uses foot strength and accuracy to give Quinnipiac a tremendous weapon on set pieces.  Carlson uses Orrico to take all conversion kicks and marvels at her ability in picking up a new sport.

                “She is an amazing kid. I wish she had a few more years of eligibility”

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Reggie Green to the University of Pittsburgh

                Cranford quarterback Reggie Green will be taking his prodigious talents to the University of Pittsburgh, ending a recruiting contest that came down to two schools in Pennsylvania’s largest cities and disappointed the runner-up Temple of Philadelphia.  Like most college choices, Green’s final decision which was announced on his Twitter account, was not easy and came down to his relationship with the Pittsburgh coaching staff, the attractiveness of the school, his immediate playing prospects and even the conference that Pittsburgh will play in.

In the rapidly changing college football landscape Green will join a current Big East school that moves to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) next year. Although Temple is now a Big East member and the ACC includes no school within 200 miles of Cranford, Green‘s family will be able to see him play in Maryland and Virginia, where he has many relatives.  Green also had offers from Boston College, UMass, Michigan State, North Carolina .State, Rutgers and Central Florida.

The thoughtful Green also looked at Pittsburgh’s current roster and saw an upperclassmen dominated receiver corps that gives him an immediate chance to contribute next season.

“Colleges don’t hand you anything but the opportunity will be there to play right away at wide receiver. The competition will be very tough but I like the challenge,” said Green, who eliminated Rutgers when the New Brunswick school told him that he was likely to play defense.

“Rutgers is loaded with young wide receivers so it didn’t look like it would be a good fit for me because I would prefer not to play defensive back,” said Green, who was rated as New Jersey’s fourth best quarterback and one of its top thirty prospects.

                Another reason for picking Pittsburgh included its strong Criminal Justice curriculum, a career path Green plans to take when his football career ends.

“College isn’t just about playing football. My parents have always made education a priority in our house. You need a plan after you stop playing,” said Green, whose older brother Will plays basketball at Farleigh Dickinson.

                Cranford Coach Erik Rosenmeier has been the beneficiary of Green’s brilliance the past three years and is certain that Green will continue to find success at the next level.

“Reggie has been a game changer for us the past few years. He makes plays that very few players can make and his competitiveness and unique talent will make him successful at every level,” said Rosenmeier.

                Green has had a penchant for saving his best performances for the biggest stages.  In the state finals against Parsippany Hills, Green ran 23 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns and came up with an interception. Through four games this season Green has completed 21-of-37 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 591 yards and seven touchdowns on 84 carries. In two games he has surpassed 200 yards rushing and while he will miss not being a quarterback next year, Green is optimistic that getting his decision out of the way will help him towards his goal of leading the Cougars to a second consecutive state title.

“I wanted to make the decision as soon as I was certain about it. I think not having the uncertainty will help me have a good finish to my senior year,”

               

Struggling Cranford field hockey team wins 2nd

            The schedule maker has not been kind to the Cranford Field Hockey team over the first month of the season with Coach Jess Berkowitz’ team facing a who’s who of state powers and starting off 1-5. But the Cougars ended the month of September with the signature victory they had been searching for when they edged rival Westfield 2-1 on Thursday September 27 at Westfield to improve to 2-5.

Junior Charley Hurley scored a goal and had an assist and senior Julie Schott also scored as they dropped Westfield to 4-4. Senior midfielder Erica Faraone played her usually solid game in midfield, junior attacker Catherine Miller created numerous offensive chances and senior goalie Jessica McCoy stopped all but one shot.

            McCoy,a four year starter at goalie has faced many of the top teams in the state during her career and this year has faced top five teams, West Essex and Oak Knoll as well as top twenty teams Montclair and Montclair Kimberly. In a 5-0 loss to West Essex, McCoy was spectacular with 24 saves. McCoy believes that taking their lumps early has its benefits later in the season.

“I think starting off with a tough schedule like this is an advantage. It challenges us at the start of our season, so we have to raise our level of play to compete with theirs. Of course, it'd be nice to play them again at the end of the season to see how we would do, but I think playing teams like Oak Knoll and West Essex early on improves our skills and prepares us for the rest of the season,” said McCoy, who will also be a four year starter for Coach Jackie Dyer’s basketball team this winter and was second team all county last year.

            Although field hockey primarily uses a different athletic skill set, McCoy does see many complementary skills.

“In terms of skill, the two sports don't overlap much to affect my abilities. However, because I play goalie in field hockey, I'm in a unique position where I'm on the field and involved, but also detached. This allows me to observe team dynamics and has also taught me the importance of intangible qualities like hustle. These dynamics and qualities are vital to basketball as well and I think that recognizing them in field hockey has provided me with a new perspective to keep in mind while in the thick of a basketball game,” added McCoy, who has learned much in her four

years

“The most important thing I've learned from this position is that you have to brush off your mistakes. As a goalie, mistakes have greater consequences, but allowing them to pile up in the back of your mind is even worse. Being a goalie taught me that in order to be successful in the present, you have focus on the present,” said McCoy.

            Miller has been the team’s leading scorer with four goals, all scored in the team’s other victory thus far, a 5-0 win over Union on September 11. Faraone also scored and added two assists. Faraone also scored in a 3-1 loss at #15 Montclair. The schedule does not get any easier as October begins with games against powers Kent Place and Summit but Berkowitz, an all state field hockey player for Cranford and first Team All-American at The College of New Jersey, is hoping to continue Cranford’s steady rise as a county power.

“My coaching experience has been developed through camp and clinic programs.    I have returned to my college at various times to help with practices and that has really helped in my ability to analyze and break down the game. I am lucky enough to still have my college coaches and former teammates who are now high school coaches to bounce ideas off of,” said Berkowitz.

“I think my greatest contribution to this program is my intensity, knowledge of the game, work ethic, and high expectations for the girls.  I believe in having high standards and expectations.  Nothing great was ever achieved with low expectations; you have to set your goals high and don’t stop until you get there.  If I can get the girls to understand the importance of playing every practice at game speed, then I think we will have a great advantage over our opponents because we will know nothing other than giving our absolute best in every match.   I would also like to see more Cranford girls playing at the college level in future years.”