LUCIA DIGIROLAMO AND HER TWIN SISTER ANGELINA traveled 3,000 miles to Irvine, Calif., with one goal in mind, to win a USA Hockey National Championship.
Leading up to this moment they had spent countless hours on the ice putting in the hard work needed to become national champions, and even more time dreaming about it in the bedroom they share inside their Woburn, Mass., home.
On their first foray onto the national stage these aspiring 13-year-old hockey players helped the East Coast Wizards cruise through the preliminary round before coming up short of their goal after an overtime loss in the quarterfinals of the 14U division of the 2019 Chipotle USA Hockey Girls Tier I National Championships.
"We want to win Nationals so we can make our family back home be proud of us," Angelina said.
Just making it to Nationals should be a source of pride for every player who gets here, no matter how far they make it.
The sisters have been with the Wizards since they first started playing hockey six years ago. As twins, they are inseparable, and that familiarity that helps them playing on the same line.
"We do almost everything together," said Angelina, who had three goals in the tournament. "We know what each other is going to do and where she's going to be on the ice."
Being that close can sometimes test the bonds of sisterhood, especially when one offers her assessment of the other's play on the ice.
"We push each other to get better," said Lucia, who had a goal and an assist. "When we get off the ice we tell each other how we thought the game went, and what we can do better. It doesn't matter how mean it may seem, in the end we know it's just constructive criticism."
Holding the National Championship in southern California offers a number of perks that other host locations don't have. One is the weather. Players warmed up in the shade of nearby palm trees as their parents, dressed in shorts and T-shirts, dined on local fare from food trucks parked in front of the rink.
Another is the location. Many teams, including the Wizards, snuck away from the rink to head to a nearby beach, or spend an afternoon at one of the many amusement parks in the area, including Disneyland.
But for the players, their focus was always on the mission at hand.
"Our tournaments are usually in cold places so we don't get much beach weather," Lucia said. "It was great but all I really want to do is win this tournament. It's what our goal has been all season so it won't be the best trip if we don't win."
There's little doubt that these sisters will have another kick at the can somewhere down the road. It's all part of some pretty lofty goals they talk about as they're lying in their beds at night.
"We want to go to the same college and one day play on the Olympic team together," Lucia said. "Our parents have done so much for us, and we want to pay them back with our effort and our play on the ice."