The midway point of the fall athletics season has arrived, and the girls varsity soccer team finds themselves in a strong position with a record of 5-5-1.
The team began the season with two straight wins against Wilbraham & Monson Academy and Marianapolis Preparatory School. Their first loss of the season came against Miss Porter’s School, which Head Coach Krista Sahrbeck believes was the toughest loss of the season thus far. Coming off of this defeat, the girls tied with Williston Northampton School and took back-to-back wins against Ethel Walker and Cheshire Academy.
The Wyverns then suffered back-to-back losses to Loomis Chaffee and Suffield Academy; however, they rebounded nicely in their most recent game with a 3-1 win against Kent School.
Coach Sahrbeck has been impressed by the full effort that the team has given in both practices and games. “Our effort and our attempt at trying to stick to the game plan and execute the game plan has been really good,” she said. She also discussed how every player has a role to play on the team. “What we preach is that all 26 of us have a role,” she said. “Whether you’re on the bench focusing and encouraging [or] playing and being on the field, all of it is essential for us to win.”
Coach Sahrbeck emphasized how important defense is for this team. She highlighted their goalkeeper, junior Kyra Dunnirvine. Dunnirvine has been a rock for the girls varsity soccer team as she has come up with many key saves. Coach Sahrbeck then highlighted the entire backline of sophomore Olivia Stevens, senior Gianna Christina, senior Caroline Dawson, sophomore Aashni Patel, and junior Alina Vaughn. “Having a strong backline is very important because it improves our confidence knowing that if we mess up, we have our defense to fall back on,” Coach Sahrbeck said.
Moving forward in the formation, the midfielders have also been key contributors to the team’s success. Sophomore midfielder Ella Sokale has been the leading scorer for the team, giving them offensive firepower, and sophomore forward Georgia Louis has served as a necessary link between the forwards and the midfielders. Sophomore forward Sophia Radmanovich, freshman forward Olivia Schaller, and sophomore forward Ashley Neikrie have been giving the Wyverns as many scoring opportunities as possible as well. The squad hopes to keep this team effort for the duration of the season.
After coming off a tough 0-7 loss on Hewett Day against Westminster, the Wyverns look to bounce back against Hopkins School on Wednesday, Oct. 27 and Hotchkiss School on Saturday, Oct. 30.
