Brubaker receives All-State honors

Warwick’s at Conastoga Valley High School in East Lampeter, PA on October 18, 2018.

Whether playing second base in softball season or goalkeeper on the field hockey turf, the skills are the same for Warwick senior Catie Brubaker.

“If she’s an infielder, when the ball’s coming at her, she’s got to get behind the ball. Well, goalkeeping is the same thing,” Warwick field hockey coach Bob Derr said. “Your body is behind the ball.”

This fall, Brubaker mastered that art, while helping to lead the Lady Warriors to the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoff semi-finals.

And on Monday, the Millersville University-commit was rewarded for her efforts, earning Second-Team All-State Triple-A honors from the Pennsylvania High School Field Hockey Coaches Association.

“I thought (Catie) deserved it,” Derr said. “I thought she had tremendous — especially end-of-season — performances that she put forward on the field, taking multiple penalty corners and shots, one right after the other, and doing an outstanding job with that.”

Overall, Brubaker finished with 122 saves in 20 games this fall. In a handful of those contests, she kicked out 20 or more shots, including Warwick’s L-L semi-final battle against Penn Manor, in which she stepped up with 21 stops.

“She had a ton of saves. I think it was very obvious the kind of goalkeeper that she is,” Derr said, “just by her performance.”

Besides her leadership qualities and communication skills with the defense, Derr describes Brubaker’s athleticism as a big strength.

“She’s a very strong, quick athlete, has no fear and can make good decisions very quickly,” Derr said. “So her athleticism really helps her inside the circle there to handle the multiple shots. I’ve had seasons where goalkeepers don’t hardly get any shots at all and they don’t have a chance to display what they’re capable of doing unless they get all the way through to the State finals. Then they prove themselves there. But Catie did that every single game.”

The competition Brubaker got from Julia Healy this season naturally sharpened her game as well.

“She works hard at it, but I think this year, she had to work a heck of a lot harder because she had competition in practice. We had a back-up goalkeeper that really improved and challenged her, and I think that made (Catie) work harder,” Derr said. “So she had to prove herself that she’s the better goalkeeper. I think that really helped her.”