Ella Dorfman saw a change in her approach result in her best statistical season yet for the South High School field hockey team.
The senior forward put a lot of pressure on herself during her first two seasons of high school field hockey. It worked out well enough, with back-to-back seasons in which she provided 10 points apiece on four goals and two assists. Then came last year’s jump to 36 points on 14 goals and eight assists.
“The offense had really good chemistry and I think that we were able to get the ball up more,” Dorfman said. “But for me, personally, I also think the mental aspect was a big part of the game.
“Whereas when I was an underclassman, every single game I was really focused on the statistics. I was really focused on, oh, I need to score this game; I need to get an assist, stuff like that. Whereas junior year, I think I focused more on just really putting my best effort into every single game and the progress would naturally reveal itself.”
Dorfman’s growth helped the Pirates put together the best season of her high school career, going 12-7-1 overall, including a 7-0 mark in the Colonial Valley Conference Valley Division. This year, she is going to try to take the same approach as the Pirates’ leading returning scorer, hoping it will produce similar personal and team gains.
“I felt really accomplished after the year,” Dorfman said. “I don’t think statistics are everything, but it did show because I felt like my freshman year and sophomore year statistics were pretty similar, but junior year they definitely grew.
“And I felt accomplished just because I felt I grew as a player with my passion with the sport also. And I think that’s another part of it. I think that I really put my effort into it.”
Each season has been a bit different for Dorfman and has allowed her to grow. As a freshman, she had the chance to play varsity with her sister, Julia, who was a star for the Pirates. The next year, she adjusted to life on the field without her sister while building on her debut season.
Then last year, she was an upperclassman sharing some of the leadership load for a team that worked well together. That team graduated starting goalie Isabella Zola, talented defender Anja Basdeo and top scorer Rimla Raza.
“It definitely feels like there are some holes to fill and some stuff to make up for,” Dorfman said. “But it really just kind of gets me excited and kind of eager because I feel like I want to be a leader on the team and someone that other people can look up to.
“And so I am very eager and willing to try to be similar to how Rimla played, but obviously it’s going to be a big change. And that’s why I think it’s really important how much work we put into preseason.”
There is also a change at the top for the Pirates. Former Pirates player Lexi Bruno, an assistant coach for the last six years, takes over as head coach after Tracy Klugerman stepped down.
Bruno is expecting a smooth transition because of her experience with the program, along with that of assistants Kristin Gorman and Katie Guzman. Gorman has been the junior varsity coach and brings an offensive mindset to the coaching role. Guzman teaches at the school and is familiar with the players. Bruno was a defender and focuses on that side of the field.
“I’m really excited to carry on the traditions that we have, watch how they kind of take the traditions that I watched growing up and take those and spin them into their own way,” Bruno said.
“But I’m also really excited to watch all of the girls that I kind of coached as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, evolve into seniors and evolve into that leadership role because they’re such a good group and it’s always a great group for field hockey coming up, even from the middle school, that it’s really awesome to see them step into a leadership role and see how they take the program and make it kind of their own every year.”
Bruno met with the rising freshmen earlier this year to help introduce them to the program. She is hopeful that the Pirates find ways to put speed and skill on the field and continue building on their success.
Dorfman is ready to do her part. She has always been offense-oriented, and that will keep her up top again this year.
“Ella brings such an aggression to the offensive lineup and also in the circle,” Bruno said. “With her circle play on the corners, it’s invaluable to have her getting in there.
“And she improved so much last year with her circle play and on our corners and watching how she was able to make things happen just by putting her stick out, just by blocking somebody out with her body and using her speed and her aggression and her knowledge of the game was awesome.
“So I’m really excited to see her. She’s definitely going to step into a leadership role. She already has, but kind of seeing how she uses her aggression to make things happen offensively for us, I’m really excited about that.”
Dorfman grew up cultivating her skills as she followed in her family’s footsteps. Her mother played for the Pirates in the 1990s, and her sister was three years ahead of her.
“They influenced me in a really positive way because obviously I think I would not have played the sport if it weren’t for them,” Dorfman said. “My mom was the one to really get my sister into the sport and I always looked up to my sister as a kid so naturally when she started playing field hockey, I also wanted to.
“And since that kind of just made field hockey like a big topic in my house, it’s just a great way for us to all bond over it and talk about it and for me to look up to the both of them.”
Dorfman also plays for Princeton Hockey Club, just as her sister did. Both also have played softball for the Pirates. Their older brother played baseball, and sports provided a bond among the siblings.
Julia Dorfman served as an inspiration for Ella. Having an older sister on the team helped take away some pressure early and eased Ella’s transition into high school.
“It gave me a lot of confidence as a freshman because we definitely had chemistry on the field, on and off the field, and I could look up to her,” Dorfman said. “And then I could carry that into my years after she left.”
Dorfman has become a staple in the Pirates’ lineup. She is hoping to help the team remain a force in the CVC during her final season. South will take lessons from a year ago and try to integrate some new starters to build another winner.
“Last year was a really successful year,” Dorfman said. “I think we focused a lot on offense because we had a strong offense.
“And I think that that’s something that we can carry into next year because we didn’t lose a lot of offensive players, but we did lose some defensive players. So I do think that we need to focus on building up the defense to then get the ball up the field because I do think that our offense is strong enough where once we get it up, we can really make stuff happen in the circle.”
Dorfman is far more comfortable on the attack. She tried defense in middle school, but her speed and stick skills have made her a good fit on offense. She hit her stride last year and is looking forward to duplicating that sort of chemistry this season as a senior.
“I’ll definitely have to be ready to take on more of a leadership position,” Dorfman said. “There are definitely, I think, less seniors than there were last year, meaning that there are a few more spots to fill up.
“But I’m definitely excited and eager because I felt like just being a junior already and being an upperclassman, I feel like I am already a pretty vocal person on the team. So I’m just going to kind of try to keep that up and try to help and inspire underclassmen.”
Aadya Sadana is a junior coming off a 16-point season, and Sarah Berliner is another senior who had eight points a year ago. Harini Selvan is a junior who is second only to Sadana in offensive production among players in her class. Berliner and Ava Barbrow will be key leaders who bring speed and strong game sense to the Pirates.
“All three of them – Ella, Sarah, and Ava – are always willing to do what’s best for the team and what we need,” Bruno said. “And that’s really, as a coach, that’s all you can ask for.”
Bruno is hoping to continue cultivating a strong culture that fosters success. She is looking to teach the game and develop versatile players who are ready to fill in anywhere on the field.
“If they’re able to understand the whole game and understand it from different perspectives and work together on that, I think that’s the biggest thing that’ll make us work as a team,” Bruno said.
“I’ve seen it from field hockey that they just have such a good tight-knit group that always comes together and is able to work together as a team and we never really have, knock on wood, really have those outstanding issues.
“But I think that’ll be key and also being able to be competitive with the teams that we might be put up against now that we did have such success last year. We might be put up against those Allentown’s and Notre Dame’s more often and PDS than what we’re used to. But I think our girls are definitely ready.”
Dorfman is looking to make the most of her final scholastic field hockey season. She is interested in playing at the club level in college.
She maintains a balance between her athletic and academic achievements. She enjoys working out and taking new workout classes, along with reading and spending time with friends.
“I’m actually super excited for senior year,” she said. “I think my goal is to just try my hardest, put my best foot forward and make a lot of memories. I want this season to be a really memorable one.
“I would obviously love to go out with a successful season with wins, but whatever happens, I just want to make sure that we’re also having fun, spending time with my friends, and just making a lot of memories on and off the field.”
