WEST ORANGE — The West Orange High School girls soccer team has forged a strong bond as it hopes to have a successful season this fall.
“This is a really special group of players who bring great energy every single day, constantly backing each other up and putting in the work together,” said first-year head coach Greg O’Brien, who was an assistant coach for the WOHS boys soccer team last year. “Our senior leaders have really stepped up to guide a young roster, and their leadership makes a huge difference for us. We also have a lot of talented underclassmen who are hungry to play and eager to show what they can do.
“As a whole team, we’re just really excited to get the regular season started, embrace the grind and take on a tough, challenging schedule.”
The Mountaineers kicked off the season with a 2-0 win over Wayne Hills on Sept. 2.
The seniors are defender Cayla Pasois, goalie/captain Niara Boddie, midfielder/captain Omoloa Kalejaye and defender/captain Megan Moran. The juniors are midfielder/defender Monica Morales, defenders Casey Oliver and Sabrina Villaruel, striker Shirley Tamay and midfielder/striker Kayla Thompson.
The sophomores are midfielders Kendall Lacy and Madelyn Tipacti, and midfielder/defender Sophia Mae Ramos. The freshmen are Nola Auzenne, Abigail Brady, Altagracia Bruno, Arabella Bruno, Isabel Carless, Rhea Evans, goalie Sophie Gomes, Elsie Heide, Avery Warren and MacKenzie Rotondi.
In the opener, Thompson scored in the first half and Lacy scored on an assist from Evans in the second half. Gomes made six saves and Boddie made one save to share the shutout.
WOHS then tied West Essex 1-1 on Saturday, Sept. 4, to move to 1-0-1. Kalejaye scored for the Mountaineers.
WOHS will visit Montclair on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 4 p.m. and visit Caldwell on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 4 p.m.
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