Editor’s note: The following article was written by Rebecca Landau, who is a junior goalie for the Golda Och Academy girls’ varsity soccer team.
WEST ORANGE, NJ – The Golda Och Academy girls’ varsity soccer team has been known to struggle against the highly skilled teams in our division. However, what we lack in skills we make up for in dedication and heart.
As the goalie on the Golda Och Academy girls’ varsity soccer team, I am able to watch every moment of each game with incredible detail. What I have seen consistently from each game is an extraordinary team dynamic.
Every year, there have been star players that help push our team to the top of its game. However, this year’s team is different. In my three years on the team, I have never seen all of these talents working so well together in order to reach our common goal of consistent winning. Through cheering for one another over each small success, to pushing each other to work to our full potential, we have managed to pull together an unbelievable season.
During the preseason, the team began with enough girls for a full starting eleven players and a comfortable amount of substitutes. But as time went on, the roster began to lose key pieces. With multiple injuries, our team has been limited to a mere 12 players for the majority of the season. While this small number may have been unnerving at first, it has definitely pushed each individual to work harder in order to compensate for our lack of players.
It still astonishes me to watch my teammates outrun, outhustle and outplay teams that have double the amount of players that we do. Simply put, each player has such a strong need to live up to each other’s expectations that nothing can stop us from getting a victory on any given day.
Our strength as a unit emanates from our veteran leaders. Seniors Adi Brickman (the leading scorer and assist leader with 15 goals and 11 assists), Emily Binstein and Emily Blum take time before each game to remind the team to keep working hard until the final whistle blows, and that is exactly what we do. The sense of motivation that surges through each player the second the game starts is seen through each pass, tackle, save, and goal made on the field.
Not only do our players’ hearts help us on the field, but our coach, Robert Cohen, has pointed us in the right direction since day one. Mr. Cohen has been able to put together a cohesive and effective line-up with such few amount of players. It is no simple task, and yet he has found a way.
With each player willing to play whatever position necessary to help out, we have taken a hopeless situation and made the best of it. It would have been easy to give up and accept that the odds were not in our favor, but that never crossed anyone’s mind. Having played soccer for many years on many different teams, there has never been such pride inside of me like there is for this team.
No matter our final record, the entire GOA team feels accomplished with what we have made of this year. With only a few weeks left in the season, our nine wins and two losses have been such a great feat that no one can take away from us. The moment I step onto the field each game, I feel so lucky to be a part of such an incredible team and family.
Dedication yields fine success for Golda Och Academy girls’ soccer team added by Editor on
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