Forget the 4-10 record, and focus on the .888 save percentage. It’s numbers like that which got Sachem North’s Chelsea Palma selected as MSG Varsity’s top goalie this season.
Palma, who also recorded 193 saves and three shutouts, has impressed her teammates, coaches and the county this year.
“The things she does and the saves she makes, sometimes literally leave me and my assistant coach with our mouths gaping open,” said Sachem coach Elizabth Gibbons. “It has become routine in the past four years for the opposing coach to come up to me at the end of the game to tell me how impressive Chelsea is.”
Gibbons said Palma is extremely humble and doesn’t boast about her accolades or personal success.
“Chelsea is an outstanding teammate,” Gibbons added, “she is a natural leader and conducts herself in such a way that earns the respect and admiration of not only her peers, but of her teachers and coaches.”
If her athletic ability is not enough to make her a standout, she is a standout in the classroom as well. Palma is in all Advanced Placement and honors classes and maintains a 93 un-weighted GPA.
CLICK HERE to watch an MSG Varsity discussion about this year’s field hockey all-stars
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro