Gutowski sisters enjoying last year of Cinnaminson soccer
Before most games - and they'll even talk about it during practice - the Cinnaminson girls' soccer team will repeat a familiar phrase.
Before most games - and they'll even talk about it during practice - the Cinnaminson girls' soccer team will repeat a familiar phrase.
" 'Do it for the sweatshirts,' " said Justyne Gutowski, a senior forward for the Pirates.
When Cinnaminson won the Burlington County League Liberty Division the year before Gutowski started high school, the players were fond of showing off the snazzy sweatshirts they received for their efforts.
Since Cinnaminson hasn't repeated the feat since, those sweatshirts are serving as one of the many sources of motivation for a team off to a scorching 10-0-1 start.
Cinnaminson has allowed just three goals all season.
And Gutowski has emerged as one half of a dynamic sibling duo with her sister, junior midfielder Hailey Gutowski.
The chemistry shown by the two sisters is emblematic of the chemistry shown all over the field for Cinnaminson.
And when asked about his team's eye-popping start - three goals in 11 games - coach Matt Digney said it's a product of a team in sync.
"We try to preach defense starting with the forwards back to goal. But really our success is due to our chemistry, to our girls playing off each other and making each other better," Digney said. "Sometimes I watch them, and they're all moving in the same direction at the exact same time. It's fun to watch."
That sort of osmosis stems from the sisters. And the fact that this is their last year on the same team is a source of motivation right up there with those sweatshirts. And it's led to both having easily their best seasons for a team holding a two-game lead over Moorestown in the division race.
Hailey, who recently committed to St. Joseph's University, has already paired seven goals with three assists. Justyne - who Digney described as the team's vocal leader, a tough player and something of an unsung hero - has chipped in five goals and three assists.
When asked about the chemistry with her sister, Justyne laughed.
"There's a reason they like to play us on the same side of the field," she said.
The sisters have been playing soccer together since they were three. They grew up with fields at Cinnaminson Middle School in their backyard, and they'd regularly walk over and work on their game. They would push each other to get better. And, yes, they could get a bit competitive, too.
"The school behind our house had a track," Hailey said. "So we would go out there and race each other just to see who was faster."
The sisters wouldn't say who won those races. They are, after all, just a year apart. So aside from being sisters, they're also best friends.
"It's hard to get away from each other," Hailey said with a laugh.
Those years of playing soccer together bred a specific style on which the entire Pirates team is thriving.
"We're both possession players," said Justyne, who is unsure if she'll play in college, but it won't be for St. Joseph's. "We were both taught the same way, so that helps us out a lot because we understand each other. We see eye-to-eye on the field."
Having a pair of siblings as the centerpiece of the team speaks to the uncanny chemistry that Digney points to.
Most of the team's starters - not just the sisters - have been playing together most of their lives.
The fact that this is their last year together is an especially poignant fact for Hailey and Justyne.
It's their last chance to display their uncanny chemistry on a soccer field. It's their last chance to earn those sweatshirts.
And it's an opportunity they're determined to make the most of.
"It's sad that it's our last year playing together," Hailey said. "But I'm glad that we've been working this hard and we've had this much success."
"To have my sister and my friends all around me and to be 10-0-1, I couldn't have asked for a better season so far," Justyne said. "We just want to keep it going. We want those sweatshirts."