It’s the kickoff to the soccer season; The teams have been put together, and the class of 2017 achieved seven spots on the girls’ varsity soccer team. This is one of the largest numbers of freshmen on girls’ varsity soccer Staples has seen in a long time. The team is a combination of the seven freshmen, two sophomores, seven juniors, and four seniors. Eleven of the players are new to girls’ varsity soccer.
The lucky, yet deserving freshmen are Julia Agardh ‘17, Kit Epstein ‘17, Claire Lonergan ‘17, Morgan Mcwhirter ‘17, Charlotte Rossi ‘17, Lydia Shaw ‘17, and Tia Zajec ‘17; all are ecstatic to be on the team.
But it’s not only these seven who are freshmen soccer stars; there are three freshmen on JV and a full freshman team of skilled players. Last year, one freshman made varsity soccer, which amplified the excitement when seven made the team this year.
Soccer coach, Heather Driscoll, discusses the freshman on the team. “They are really talented. We are looking to put the best team on the field,” Driscoll said. “I was certainly surprised with the number of freshmen, but if they work hard in tryouts and earn it, they will get a spot.”
Shaw, a freshman on varsity who has been playing soccer since first grade, is incredibly proud of her achievement. “The tryouts were really difficult, and I feel like this is all of my hard work paying off,” Shaw said. She’s very excited to play at a varsity level and is looking forward to having a higher degree of competition.
The freshmen feel a lot more comfortable being themselves on the team because there are so many of them. Shaw agrees, “It’s fun to have so many freshman because it breaks up the barrier of age group difference.”
Driscoll sees the effort the freshmen put in, and is very happy with the team dynamic thus far. “On the field they work their butts off, and socially the girls seem to get along really well,” Driscoll said.
The team had their first game on September 11th. They won six to nothing with two freshmen scoring goals. Already off to a great start, with fresh faces and a fresh attitude, the team will hopefully have a fresh and fantastic season.
