Girls Soccer Works Toward Goals

by Adam Hoffmann

The Newman Girls Soccer team has been off to a great start in the 2012 season.  After losing a few talented seniors from last year, the team has come back even stronger.  The team has won every game so far with the exception of tying Lakeland, who is in the same conference, and Assumption, who is in a separate conference, going into the game Tuesday against Lakeland.  Newman is currently sitting on top of the conference with a few more tough games still to play.  Unfortunately on Tuesday the team suffered their first lost against Lakeland the second time they met on the field.

           

Senior captain Grace Kennedy, who plays left defender for the Newman girls soccer team, says “the key to beating these teams is communicating better”.  One of the problems she stated was a lack of communication.  This is the area in which the team is trying to improve the most.  Once this problem is fixed, they will have a much greater chance of defeating their opponents.

           

Kennedy also stated about the team chemistry that, “this year has had the best team chemistry out of all of my four years.  We have starters from all grades which has helped the team bond.”  It is clear that the team gets along with each other and knows each other very well.  This component is very helpful when trying to play with one another.

           

As a major part of the solid defense, Kennedy commented on the defense, “we had a few problems with communicating but we have been working on it and it has improved greatly helping the midfield and team keeping our shape on the field.”  The defense at the beginning of the season had some problems and gaps.  After specifically working hard in practice on defense, these errors have been fixed.  It is clear that the defense is one of the best around, letting in only 6 goals so far this season.

           

As a team goal, they want to win conference.  From there, they want to get to state.  The team has confidence that this is a definite possibility.  With only a few games left in the season against some tough opponents, they must take home victories.  By winning some more big games, the team will be seeded high for regionals and sectionals, increasing their chance of qualifying for state.