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MMA title on Sacred Heart's mind After taking third place during the regular season and losing 2-1 to Nichols in the Monsignor Martin Association semifinals, Sacred Heart girls soccer coach Kelly Damon hopes 2007 is the year her team can take top honors. "Definitely," said Damon. "We made a lot of progress last year, taking third in the league and beating Nardin for the first time in four years. We know we have a chance of making it a special season so the girls are taking every opportunity in and out of practice to better their skills." A big reason why the Sharks have a good shot at first is team depth. "I can go deeper on the bench than in years past," said Damon. "Usually I can go only 12 deep. This year, I can go 15 deep. And it's not at forward but in the midfield and defense which are usually positions that I usually don't have a ton of girls playing." The team will be led by junior co-captains Natalie Coppola and Alycia Pontello. Coppola, is a returning Monsignor Martin Association first team all-star at sweeper. She started at outside defensive back as a freshman. Pontello is a returning MMA second team pick in the center midfield. "Natalie understands the game well," said Damon. "Plus her teammates take direction from her, which is perfect for a captain. On the field, she makes the smart play and doesn't force anything." "Alycia marks the other players' top threat and has a phenomenal drive," she added. Pontello, freshman stopper Emily Rose Conforti and senior outside defensive backs Brienna Brink and Emily Tutak will start. Freshman Emily Shanahan and sophomore Erica Comisso will rotate in at outside back. Junior Susan O'Rourke, who started on JV last year, is penciled in as the varsity starting goalie. "She went to a lot of camps over the summer, is aggressive at the net and tries to take command of the defense," said Damon. "For someone new to varsity, she's a couple of steps ahead already." The starting midfield is Pontello, junior Emily Rodgers, who Damon said is good with the ball with both feet, and a four-way rotation of senior speedster Samantha Arena and juniors Ginamarie Mule, Devon Hornung and Sarah Healy. Damon said Horning, who has played varsity since freshman year, is the most improved player on the team. "Her ball skills and shot will be more of a threat than it has been over the past two years," said Damon. At forward, the Sharks return the duo of juniors Kasey Bougard and Christine Loftus. Bougard, the team's leading goal scorer last year, is a returning MMA first team all-star. Loftus, a starter since freshman year, is a returning MMA second team selection. "They're probably the fastest duo in the league," said Damon. "They know where to go and work off each other. If one goes up, the other hangs back. Between them, no one cares who scores the goal, which is nice." Damon said Bougard has a knack for scoring goals in clutch situations. Last year, she scored both of the team's playoff goals and the game-winner against Nardin in the regular season. "If she gets the ball and the game is tied, I have no doubt that the kid is going to score," said Damon. Juniors Lindsay Delgross (midfield), Molly Schman (defense) and Natalie Cappellazzo (forward) round out the roster.
Sacred Heart finished 4-3 last year. |
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