Staples is known countywide for their talent on the soccer field, and this year’s girls varsity soccer team hopes, as usual, to uphold the standards they have worked hard to set. The difference in this year’s team is the rare and new team dynamic.
This new dynamic has been brought about by the loss of nine seniors last year and the gain of four freshmen this year; a change-up that may have an affect on the upcoming season. But Coach Nikki Ross is not worried. “I am more than confident in the new talent on the team,” said Ross.
This new talent has entered with a bang, specifically the four freshmen, Chloe Rosenfield ’15, Lauren Garcia ’15, Maggie Walsh ’15, and Megan Root ’15. Four freshman making varsity is a rare event in Staples girls varsity soccer, especially when a goal for Ross this season was to take a smaller roster.
Needless to say, it is no mystery how Rosenfield, Garcia, Walsh and Root claimed their spots on the field. “Age is not something we look at during tryouts. My other coaches and I are looking for athletes that prove themselves at tryouts and we are looking to put together the best team possible,” said Ross.
Rosenfield feels she rightfully earned her spot, and agrees that age didn’t affect who made what team this year. “We play the same style of play as the upperclassman,” said Rosenfield. Rosenfield still feels she can learn from the upperclassmen on the team, and hopes training on varsity for four years “will make us much better players for future soccer seasons.”
Walsh and Garcia also look forward to their time on varsity, Garcia calling the experience “valuable.” Walsh feels that it can be intimidating playing with older girls but stands by the fact that age is just a number. “They’re so nice to us that age doesn’t really matter when we play,” said Walsh.
While the team seems excited for the season, they will have to deal with the change of going from a team that was mainly seniors to a team with four freshmen. A large amount of juniors were cut, something Ross justifies by saying, “It was a difficult decision as always, cutting is never easy.”
Savannah Donahue‘13, a junior who didn’t make the varsity cut but made JV, was fearful of being cut altogether, saying that many of the girls who were cut seemed to be just as good as everyone else. Donahue has taken this into consideration and will use it to try her best in the upcoming season. “I’d rather be on a team than no team,” she said.
Taylor Hawes ’13, also a member of the JV team, agreed with Donahue, “as long as I play the sport it doesn’t matter what team I’m on,” said Hawes.
Julia Tziolis, a returning varsity member, called the cuts this year “interesting,” specifically the large amount of girls on either end of the age spectrum. The gap is in the middle, with only five juniors and one sophomore. “I don’t think [the cuts] were fair,” said Tziolis, adding that while she thinks its “harsh” for the juniors to be cut, the freshmen “proved themselves and played really well.”
Overall, Ross is confident that the dynamic will work itself out, as it has in years past. “So far the team chemistry has been great. We have a wonderful group of girls and they all seem to support each other on and off the field,” said Ross.
Throughout the season, Ross plans to stress that age is not an important factor in how one plays the game.
“It doesn’t matter what grade you are in, they all made the team for a reason and that is because they proved that they deserved to be there, so they have to continue to act that way throughout the entire season,” said Ross.
