NUTLEY, NJ — The Nutley High School girls soccer team has a bright future.
The Raiders feature a slew of freshmen in the program, including some on the varsity squad. That makes longtime head coach Mike DiPiano very optimistic for upcoming seasons.
“We have a nice group of freshmen,” said DiPiano, who also is the NHS head varsity wrestling coach. “We haven’t had this many freshmen in a while. We have 18 freshmen, seven on the varsity, so that youth has helped. We graduated 25 seniors in two years. It’s good to start reloading the roster.”
Among those ninth-graders are Madison Heal, Selmah Kantor, Kayleigh Martinez, Mackenzie Shedd, Allyson Roman, Abigail Leahy and Ellie Oldak.
DiPiano knows he will need the freshmen to step up their games as the season progresses. The Super Essex Conference obviously is a lot tougher than the youth levels, with players being more physically developed and better skilled, DiPiano noted. “Some of the freshmen need to grow up quickly,” DiPiano said. “They have been successful on the youth level. We need the girls in town at the lower level playing at a higher level.”
The Raiders posted back-to-back convincing wins to improve to 3-3 on the season, defeating Irvington, 8-0, on Thursday, Sept. 19, and North Bergen, 6-0, on Friday, Sept. 20, both on the road.
As they continue to develop chemistry on the field, the Raiders have shown they can compete in close contests.
“This team has the ability to play soccer. We’re not losing, 3-0, 4-0. We’re in every game,” DiPiano said. “We just have to fix a couple of things and put the ball in the back of the net. This team, I believe, can do that.”
DiPiano has been impressed by the players’ tireless commitment. Since the first official day of practice in mid-August, they haven’t had any problems with players not coming to practice on time.
The leadership has come from the senior captains: Brooke Yero, Danielle Goode and Breele Robson, who have inspired their teammates, especially the freshmen.
“The leaders are doing a good job leading the team and making sure everybody is comfortable and a part of this,” DiPiano said. “We’re excited for the future. The captains have to continue to lead, and if they do that, we’ll be alright.”
Heal scored three goals to lead the Raiders in the win over Golda Och. Yero had a goal and three assists; Goode had a goal and an assist; sophomore Skylar Florie and Shedd each had a goal; and Kantor, Martinez and junior Rosa Harrington each recorded one assist. Robson made two saves.
Photos Courtesy of Felicia Laguerre Owens
Nutley vs. Irvington
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