'We look
to Niya'
In Niya We Trust.
That is the simplest way to sum up what Niya Fields means to the Putnam Science Academy girls’ prep basketball team.
The 5-foot, 8-inch senior point guard is the only returning starter among the four players who were on last year’s team. And Fields, who hails from Peekskill, N.Y., is the only one who played on the school’s first girls’ team in 2017-18.
“She is poised. She is steady. She is battle-tested,” Mustangs first-year coach Amanda Morales said. “When things break down and get chaotic, we will look to Niya.”
That is actually a lot to put on someone, considering she won’t turn 17 until New Year’s Eve. (Fields skipped a grade when she was younger, but said she doesn’t remember which one, other than laughing that “it was an early one.”) But she knows this is her time.
“My first two years, we had Fatima Lee and Ari Koivisto,” Fields said. “They were our leaders and they kept me in check. Now I have to step up and take their position and keep my team in check. Now I am the leader.”
For someone who does not care for public speaking, addressing her team and teammates could be a little challenging. As time has gone on though, Fields is more at ease in the role that has been both assumed by her and passed down to her. She understands the significance of it. And her teammates have openly accepted her standing.
“Niya is a great teammate and she is our leader,” said fellow senior Lucie Castagne, who was a teammate of Fields last year as well. “She cares about everybody. She has our backs. Girls can go to her, she can go talk to the girls if she needs to. She’s great.”
It helps that she can play a little bit too. In early October, she committed to play at Norfolk State University in Virginia; the Spartans are getting a solid offensive player, but someone who has made her name on the defensive end of the court.
“I’ve known since probably sixth grade that I liked to pressure the ball and get my steals,” Fields said. “I like to get my points from my steals rather than bringing it down the court. My defense helps my offense. And it rattles the other team, of course. To know that I’m making them call a timeout to switch something up, and then they switch it and I’m still interrupting what they’re doing, I know I’m just frustrating them even more and that helps my team.”
The Mustangs have designs on winning the Insider Exposure Independent School National Championships in late February, where they have finished in third place the last two seasons. After opening this season with a home win over TPLS of Fairfax, Va., in which Fields had 10 points and a half-dozen steals, PSA traveled to Montreal for a three-games-in-three-days showcase to prepare for the format of the national championships. PSA had a little tougher time there against some of Canada’s top teams, dropping two of three games. PSA next plays in another showcase on Nov. 16 in Maryland.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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caption, page 6:
Ana Aldaz, far left, celebrating with teammates. PSA photo.
They call her “Tink,” which is short for Tinkerbell.
“But she’s a bad-A kind of Tinkerbell,” Putnam Science Academy coach Jen Bennet said of Ana Aldaz, one of the talented midfielders on the Mustangs’ girls’ soccer team. “That was my first impression of her.”
As the season has gone on, Bennett’s opinion hasn’t changed, and at the same time, Aldaz is making a number of other impressions as well.
“For me, assists are more important than goals,” Bennett said. “If we aren’t making the pass and playing as a team, we won’t be successful and won’t win the big games. Being unselfish and finding the open player is what wins games and that is what Tink has been doing all year.”
Aldaz leads the 7-0 Mustangs, who have scored 66 goals, with nine assists. She has had three games with multiples assists, including two in which she’s had three. But not only she can help teammates find the back of the net, but she can do it herself, too. She is second on the team with 12 goals, and has scored at least two in four games. But if it’s all the same, Aldaz would be just fine if those were someone else’s goals. Just as long as she got the assist.
“Both are important but I’d rather have an assist than score one myself,” said Aldaz, a 15-year-old from Spain. “That’s just the way I like to play soccer. I know how to play as a team. It’s important to pass the ball to other people because that’s the way to score. I think that I’ve always played that way.”
One of the things she does so well is chase down balls that look like they have too much pace on them, something that would cause many other players to simply give up on the play.
But not Tink.
“She’s a hustler,” Bennett said. “And then she converts those into opportunities for her teammates. She’s a team player and it shows. She’s very unselfish.”
Aldaz has a simple explanation for why she keeps getting after those balls.
“I think I’m fast and I have to use my speed,” she said. “If I see that I can get to that ball, I go.”
One of her teammates who benefits from that hustle is leading scorer Karol Souza.
“She plays hard,” Souza said. “And she’s a good passer. She puts the ball in the right spot all the time.”
Bennett said Aldaz is particularly adept at sending beautiful balls from the right side into the 18, whether it’s threading a needle or getting it into some space.
“We have been very successful with her doing that.”
The Mustangs, in their first year as a program, have battled depth issues all season, as they only have one reserve; at times during the season, Bennett had to play with nine or 10 on the field when injuries struck. But Aldaz doesn’t miss a game. And she doesn’t miss a minute, either.
“She’s one of the most in-shape players on our team,” Bennett said, “so getting 80 minutes out of her is never an issue. She’s just one of those players I can depend on to do it all for me.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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Woodstock Public Schools
Monday: No school - Professional Development. Tuesday: Waffles, sausage, fruit. Wednesday: Chicken tenders, green beans, fruit. Thursday: Beef and bean burritos, fruit. Friday: Pizza, fruit.
Putnam Elementary/Middle
Monday: No school - Veterans Day. Tuesday: Macaroni and cheese, carrots. Wednesday: Chicken bacon ranch panini. Thursday: Fiesta Taco Bowls, Spanish rice, corn. Friday: Putnam Special Pizza, salad.
Putnam High
Monday: No school - Veterans Day. Tuesday: Waffle bar or bacon cheeseburgers. Wednesday: Clipper Burgers or chicken quesadilla. Thursday: Nachos Grande or Chicken Caesar salad. Friday: Stuffed-crust pizza or fish and chips.
Pomfret Community
Monday: Bacon cheddar burgers, baked beans, rainbow tray with fruit and veggies. Tuesday: Chicken fajitas, rainbow tray. Wednesday: Chicken pot pie, green beans, rainbow tray. Thursday: Grilled cheese and ham sandwiches, rainbow tray. Friday: French bread pizza, rainbow tray.
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Wed. Nov. 6
Blood Drive
PUTNAM ---The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Putnam Elks Club on Edmond Street. Call 1-800-RED CROSS. .
Art Exhibit
N. GROSVENORDALE --- The Friends of the Thompson Public Library will present Art @ the Library, Fiber & Art Compilation by Hope Barton, Pat Ferguson & Cathey LaBonte through Nov. 30. Opening Reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Nov. 13. 860-923-9779.
Fri. Nov. 8
Nature Program
HAMPTON --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will present Beaver Moon Campfire and Walk from 7 to 10 p.m. at Trail Wood on Kenyon Road. Free for CAS members; $5 for nonmembers. Cloud/rain date is Nov. 9. Register: 860-928-4948.
History Program
CANTERBURY --- The Canterbury Historical Society will present “Taylor McClure of the Connecticut Historical Society Discussing Connecticut’s 17th Century Witch Trials” following the 7 p.m. business session in the community room of the Town Hall. All welcome. Free refreshments.
Sat. Nov. 9
Toy Collection
WOODSTOCK --- The Woodstock Fire Departments and Community Fire Station 81 will hold their 14th annual Toy Collection from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bring new unwrapped toy or a donation to the Woodstock Volunteer Fire Association on Rt. 169 (next to the Woodstock Town Hall).
Nature Program
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will present “Saw-whet Owl Banding” at 7 p.m. starting from the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. Limited to 20 people. $15 for CAS members; $25 for nonmembers. Register: 860-928-4948.
Winter Bazaar
DANIELSON --- The Westfield Church on Main Street will hold a Winter Wonderland Bazaar and Craft Fair from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. WestfieldUCC.org.
Wine-Beer Tasting
PUTNAM --- Pet Pals Northeast, a local animal welfare organization, will hold a Wine and Beer Tasting fund-raiser from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Putnam Elks on Edmond St. Prizes, auction. 21+ event. $20 per person, at door or at Quinebaug Valley Veterinary Hospital, Danielson, GriLiquors, Putnam, PAWS Cat Shelter, Woodstock. 860-317-1720.
Variety Show
PUTNAM --- Day Kimball Healthcare will present a family-friendly variety show, “DKH Goes Live for 125,” at 6 p.m. at Putnam Middle School. $10 per person; kids 12 and younger admitted free. Snacks and beverages available for purchase. 860-928-7141.
Yuletide Fest
PUTNAM --- The Daughters of Isabella will present the St. Mary Church Yuletide Festival & Pictures with Santa from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church hall. Crafts, refreshments and luncheon.
Sun. Nov. 10
Fund-raiser Concert
N. GROSVENORDALE --- The a cappella ensemble Take Note! will perform a concert to benefit TEEG at 3 p.m. at the First congregational Church of Woodstock. Donations to TEEG accepted at the door. 860-923-3458.
Guitar Concert
CHEPACHET --- Classical guitarist Scott Sanchez will present "Bach, Beatles, Brubeck and Beyond” at 2:30 p.m. at the Music at the Meeting House concert at the Chepachet Baptist Church on Rt. 44. Free but freewill offering will be taken. Refreshments follow. chepachetbaptist.org.
Tues. Nov. 12
Forum
POMFRET --- The Pomfret School will present its first Annual Congressman Horace Seely-Brown Jr. “Forum on Politics & Public Policy” featuring local politicians at 6:45 p.m. in the School Building on campus. Free. All welcome. www.pomfret.org.
Thur. Nov. 14
Shakespeare
POMFRET --- The Pomfret School Theater will present “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, (Abridged)” at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 and Nov. 15 in the Hard auditorium. Free. All welcome. www.pomfret.org.
Sat. Nov. 16
Holiday Store
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center Annual Holiday Nature Store will be open through Dec. 20 at the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. 860-928-4948.
Christmas Bazaar
DUDLEY --- St. Andrew Bobola Church on W. Main Street will hold its Holy rosary Christmas Bazaar from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Nov. 16 and from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nov. 17.
Sat. Nov. 23
Community Conversation
DANIELSON --- The Quiet Corner subcommittee of the Windham/Willimantic NAACP Chapter will present “The Hurricane” (Rubin Hurricane Carter) at 1 p.m. at the Westfield Congregational Church on Main Street. It’s part of a free film series. Movie and popcorn free. Discussion follows.
Nature Program
HAMPTON --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will present “Haiku Workshop with Sherri Vogt” from 10 a.m. to noon at Trail Wood on Kenyon Road. $5 for CAS members; $10 for nonmembers. Register online.
Fund-raiser Auction
EASTFORD --- Eastford Elementary School will host its annual Goods & Services Auction starting at 5 p.m. at the school’s gym. A brazen barbeque dinner will be available. Fund-raiser for the eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C.
Holly Day Fair
UNION --- The Congregational Church of Union on Rt. 191 will hold its Holly Day Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission free. Food and beverages available. Handicap accessible.
Sun. Nov. 24
Healing Service
BROOKLYN --- A Christian Healing Service will be held at 2 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church on Providence Road. Includes praise and worship music at a celebration of the Eucharist. All welcome. 860-774-9352.
Fri. Nov. 29
Game Day
POMFRET --- The Windham-Tolland 4-H Camp in Pomfret is offering a Camper Game Day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 29, Black Friday, for kids ages 6-12. Food. $20/child. All welcome. Preregister: 860-974-1122.
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