Despite tough losses and draws, the girls varsity soccer team looks to learn from past defeats and to improve going into the season.
The team opened their season against Suffield High School on Wednesday, Sept. 5. The end result was a 1-1 draw, but the team showed a lot of resilience in that game. After trailing for about 30 minutes, they were able to tie the game in the final ten minutes with a goal from sophomore midfielder Isabel Jacobson.
Head Coach Tracy Deeter said her take away from that game was that they need to work on offense during practice. She also said that this first game was a good example to her predominantly young team what the high school level is like. “That game served as an eye-opener on how fast paced the game is going to be, how fitness plays a big role,” Coach Deeter said.
The Wyverns then faced a tough opponent at Pomfret School on Friday, Sept. 7 where they lost 1-0. Despite what the scoreboard said, the Wyverns viewed that game as a positive game for them. Pomfret has been known to be one of, if not the, best class B school, and KO hung with them the entire game.
According to senior defender captain Nicole Genga, the entirety of the game was very well played, especially defensively, and the only downside was an unlucky goal. Even though the game ended in a loss for the Wyverns, the game against Pomfret wasn’t even supposed to be close, especially due to the inexperience of the KO team. So the fact that the wyverns were able to fight tooth and nail until the last whistle with a very good team gives a lot of people hope about what this young squad can do this season.
The girls soccer team then traveled to Rye, N.Y. to face off against School of the Holy Child where they just came up, short losing 3-2. Despite the loss, junior Jamie Scarpantonio had a good showing as she was able to net two goals for the wyverns.
Other than winning games and improving, the team has a very simple goal, which is to have fun. Genga and her fellow captains are making it their goal to make this season as fun and positive as possible. “We want to make practice a fun thing,” Genga said. “We don’t want people to feel like it’s a requirement.” Senior goalkeeper Captain Charlotte Cyr also has a similar idea of what she wants out of her final season as a Wyvern. “I want to have fun this season, stay positive, and try to have a great experience,” said Cyr.
The seniors are trying to create a culture this year of positivity while still working hard. “It’s such a better vibe this year,” Genga said. She said that this team has a very good energy this year, and the captains are really trying to encourage the younger players and not allow them to lose sight of their love for the game. The seniors believe with better encouragement and lots of positive energy that the team will be able to win games as there will be great team chemistry. In fact, Genga said that you could tell that the flow of the team is very different than last year, and that people aren’t stressed or worried when they have the ball due to the encouragement from their teammates.
This girls soccer team has made the playoffs for two of the past three years and is definitely looking to make a return after not making the playoffs last year, as they are approaching this season in a different way.
This season is focused on the practice field as the captains are trying to develop chemistry and positive energy while Coach Deeter is trying to instill the idea of competition in her players. “Our main goal is for the girls to learn how to compete against each other at practice,” Coach Deeter said.
The team is trying to do all of the little things right; they hope that their work ethic and positivity will help them win games.
