Resilient.
From the start of the season when the roster wasn’t quite as expected, to losing a key front-line contributor to a season-ending injury, to having a key defender go down in the second half of a neck-and-neck league championship game, the Dragons found a way to be resilient from opening whistle to final buzzer.
Such resiliency paid off for the Dragons in the FAA championship game, against arch-rival St. Luke’s, as GFA struggled in the first half but turned things around and posted a 2-1 victory over the Storm.
It was GFA’s first FAA title since the 2005 season.
“One hundred percent, it’s better than I imagined,” said Andrew Henry, GFA’s fifth-year head coach. “I don’t even know what’s going on right now. I’m dizzy. Down 1-0, playing horrible, but we figured it out. It required some work, but we figured it out. These girls have been resilient all year.”
GFA trailed 1-0 at the half, after not playing well, but in the second half the Dragons found the equalizer.
Piper Rothman '26 sent a shot on goal that rebounded off the goalie and was kicked back into the net by Camille Ewing '23.
“At halftime, Andrew was talking to us about the importance of following up shots and we hadn’t been implementing that in the first half,” Ewing said. “We had to make sure to follow up shots because we knew the ball would be on the ground. We just had to follow through.”
Rothman also proved she was listening to her coach at halftime.
“She just had just been screamed at for not being confident,” Henry said. “High risk, high reward. And there was Camille, our two-year captain, who only played about 10 minutes in our semifinal win, and she got her moment today. She attacked the rebound and got it in. Unbelieveable.”
Later in the half, Lauren Lior '23 fired a long shot that short-hopped the St. Luke's goalie and bounced in for a 2-1 advantage.
“I don’t even really remember what I did. It’s crazy,” Lior said. “I just wanted to get it on target.”
From there, goalie Mae Morelli '26 and the defense did the rest, clinching GFA's tournament title despite losing key center back Charlotte Walter '24 in the second half to an ankle injury.
“We call them The Unit,” Henry said. “They work together, they fight together. One goes out, another one picks her up. You can’t ask for anything more.”
The Unit only gave up one goal in three FAA playoff games and the squad’s performance in a 2-0 win over Greenwich Academy in the semifinals was top-notch.
“Yeah, that was by far the best defensive game we’ve ever played,” center back Julia Johnson said. “Everybody in The Unit had their best game.”
And another unlikely star led the offense as Emma Orenstein ’23 scored both goals to give GFA the win.
“I never score goals,” Orenstein said with a laugh. “I got the two goals, but it was just a great team effort.”
Lior and Beatrice Schelin ’25 notched the assists.
For Ewing and Orenstein to have such moments in the FAA championship run was special to everybody in the program.
“It was amazing,” Lior said. “I’m so happy for them, having seen them grow so much over the years as players.”
Lior scored two goals and assisted on Shannon Martin's game-opening goal as GFA defeated King by a 3-0 score on Tuesday in an FAA quarterfinals.
Ella Conopask '24 also had an assist while Morelli had eight saves as she and the GFA defense notched their third straight shutout.
At that point, though, two games still remained for the resilient Dragons to take the title—something they were ready to do after a season that had them prepared so well.