Meet Egg Harbor Township field hockey player, recent graduate Emily Gargan
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Egg Harbor Township field hockey coach Kristi Troster wishes she could have Emily Gargan, a 2022 graduate, for about five more years. The six-foot-tall defender was just scratching the surface of her ability in the sport during her four-year Eagles career and could have been even better with more training.
But Gargan played field hockey for fun 鈥� something to do in the lacrosse offseason to keep her in shape and stay busy. That鈥檚 how good of an athlete Gargan is. Even in a secondary sport she was one of the best on the team, and a top defender in the Cape-Atlantic League.
She was even better in lacrosse, scoring 54 goals and adding 11 assists to help lead EHT into the Cape-Atlantic League and NJSIAA playoffs. She credits her mom, Kristy, and dad, Andrew, with helping her develop her lacrosse skills from a very young age, and all that work has paid off as she plans to continue her lacrosse career at the NCAA Division I level by attending Central Michigan this fall.
鈥淪ince I could walk, I had a lacrosse stick in my hands. My mom and dad helped start up the E.H.T.Y.O. program to help develop lacrosse (in the Township), so I was always around the game. My dad played in college, and my older brother always played, so I was exposed to it early on,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y mom was also a really big help, pushing me because she saw my potential. Since then, I鈥檝e put in a lot of work and it led to an offer from Central Michigan.鈥�
鈥淗er career in field hockey was a little more textbook,鈥� Troster explains. 鈥淚n lacrosse, she came in as a varsity starter right away. In freshman field hockey, she was still growing, but improved quickly. The following year she replaced one of our pieces in the varsity defensive backfield and stayed there ever since.鈥�
Gargan certainly set the example in the classroom as well, as she graduated among the top two percent of Egg Harbor Township鈥檚 Class of 2022, and she plans to major in neuroscience at Central Michigan with a concentration in dentistry.
Gargan said she got the most out of her high school career in both sports, and that was due in large part to the leaders she looked up to when she was a young player.
鈥淭he girls were awesome and the coaches on both staffs were amazing people,鈥� Gargan said. 鈥淔reshman year, having all those seniors to look up to really helped me when it was my senior year, and I wanted to help any freshman, making sure they had a really good experience. It鈥檚 so much better when you have a good dynamic together.鈥�
Gargan鈥檚 career was not without its challenges, however. As a sophomore, she suffered a torn MCL, and also lost that season due to the Covid-19 outbreak. She scored 60 goals as a freshman, returned as a junior to score 27 more, and capped her career with 54 tallies this spring to finish with 141 goals and 17 assists.
鈥淔reshman year was my best year of lacrosse. I got MVP at the end of the season, and everything felt like a dream because I was accomplishing everything I wanted to. Sophomore year I tore my MCL, but looking back I think that was a good thing because it taught me how to get through something that was very difficult.鈥�
Troster said what struck her about Gargan was that everything seemed to come easily to her. She moved with grace and fluidity on the field and had instincts that belied her lack of experience in the sport, which she only started playing in middle school.
鈥淪he鈥檚 very natural and has great instincts. In that sweeper position you鈥檙e kind of a rover and the last line of defense in front of the goalie, so to have the level of poise she had 鈥� she knew when she needed to step up, when she needed to hold her ground, and those are very difficult things to learn, especially not having played the sport that long,鈥� Troster said.
Gargan was pretty matter-of-fact when it came to her emotions about her high school career coming to an end. Time waits for no one, and she said she鈥檚 ready to move on to the next phase of her life at Central Michigan.
鈥淪enior year was a fun year. I was finishing off my high school career on a happy note. I pushed myself hard, but at the end of the day it was my final season and I just wanted to cherish those moments with my friends and teammates before going off to college,鈥� she said.
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