Mount twins double trouble for opponents

A few days before the field hockey season was to begin, Mount St. Joseph coach Lois Weber was talking about the role she expected the Sabia twins, seniors Allie and Brooke, to play.

"They've been keys to our offensive success for the past two seasons," Weber said. "Now I'd like to see them develop as playmakers to help some of our younger players."

So much for being playmakers. Brooke had a hat trick and Allie added a goal as the Magic opened their season Friday with a 4-0 nonleague win over Pennsbury. Last season, the two helped the Magic reach the PIAA Class AAA semifinals before the team bowed to Cocalico.

No doubt the twins will have their opportunities to serve as playmakers this season, but with the Sabias' quickness and speed, sometimes their teammates find it difficult to keep up with them. Opponents certainly do.

"They've played a lot of different sports," said Cinder Sabia, who along with husband, John, adopted the girls when they were 15 months old. "They've taken to field hockey, but that's not how they started."

The sports the twins first took to didn't work out. Allie suffered a stress fracture of the back in fourth grade and decided to give up gymnastics.

Brooke took up tennis - Cinder was a player at Wake Forest, and Brooke's older brother John won a PIAA tennis championship for Springfield (Montco). But at 5-foot-1 (the same height as Allie), Brooke found the game was a challenge.

"I was so short, I couldn't reach the wide shots," Brooke said with a chuckle.

The two sisters found their love for field hockey at Norwood-Fontbonne Academy in Chestnut Hill, not far from their Lafayette Hill home. And brother John, 29, was more than willing to help his sisters with their calisthenics. Brother Ed, 27, was a football player at Cornell.

"We can probably do 40, maybe 50, pushups in a row," Allie reported. "We still do them."

While pushups and other workouts have provided their endurance, it's their speed on the field that has made them so valuable to Weber. They both are sprinters on the Mount track team.

Referred to simply as "the twins" on the field hockey team, they do have a lot of similarities in taste and teen culture. Last season, Brooke had 15 goals. Allie was just two behind her.

"Brooke is definitely more aggressive," said Allie, who is older by 24 minutes. "She's the tomboy."

It's not easy to tell them apart. Weber will testify to that. Allie's hair is a little lighter than Brooke's. That helps distinguish them.

Oddly enough, Brooke is lefthanded while Allie is righthanded. It doesn't make any difference with a field hockey stick, however, as both can go with either hand.

"We're just a mirror image of each other," Allie said.

Both of them have committed to play for Massachusetts next season.

"We didn't go looking to go together," Allie added. "It just worked out that way."

The twins are looking for another season like 2010, when the Magic lost their first Catholic Academies game against arch-rival Villa Maria Academy then came back to beat the Hurricanes, 3-2, in the second regular-season game and topped things off with a 2-1 overtime win in the league championship game.

"They are always battles with Villa," said the twins, almost in unison.

Mark down Friday on your calendar. That's the first meeting between the two clubs.