A new season brings a familiar face back to the sidelines for Loomis Chaffee girls soccer. 

Carey O’Brien has returned to Loomis this fall as head coach of the girls varsity soccer program, bringing extensive experience at the prep, collegiate, and professional levels. Coach O’Brien previously coached at Loomis from 2011 to 2017, when her teams compiled a 97-19-10 record and captured back-to-back New England championships in 2016 and 2017. She spent 18 seasons on the coaching staff at the University of Connecticut and also played professionally for the Bay Area CyberRays.

Now, as she begins a new chapter with the Pelicans, O’Brien is excited to watch this year’s team find its identity. 

“I think seeing everything start to come together,” O’Brien said about what she is most looking forward to this season. “We had a good start to preseason and did well facing good competition.”

For O’Brien, that identity starts with how the Pelicans approach each day. She wants the group to be defined by hard work and a commitment to competing to become their best selves. Just as importantly, she hopes her players learn the value of giving their best effort while working toward common goals while also enjoying the process along the way.

The team’s senior leaders already have embraced the emphasis on working together. Despite graduating only five players from last year’s roster, senior captain Molly Walker said that with yearly player changes, the returners are striving to cultivate an inclusive team dynamic.

“With a large, influential senior class of seven, we collectively decided to put an immense emphasis on our team culture,” Walker said. “Our efforts are apparent on the field, and I believe that it is inspiring to watch a team, built on friendship, play as one, collective group.”

Senior captain Bretton Pratt has felt that same connection. After intentionally working to create a positive environment within the program, she is excited to see how those relationships shape the team throughout the fall.

“I am so excited that we are all together again and that we get the chance to play what we love, with the people we love being around,” Pratt said. “We have a very positive culture that we’ve worked really hard to create, and I am so excited to see where it takes us this year, on and off the field.”

That cohesion is a crucial element in the way the Pelicans hope to play this fall. Senior captain Lizzie Orszulak is encouraging people to come watch this group put it all out there on the field. “People should come watch our team this fall because we’re a truly cohesive group that competes hard and always strives to win. The way we move and share the ball makes our style of play very enjoyable to watch,” she said.

With O’Brien returning to lead the program and an experienced senior class committed to bringing the team together, the Pelicans enter the fall focused on more than what they accomplish on the field. They are working to create a team defined by hard work, positivity, friendship, and a shared commitment to one another.