Emer Paz-Mody
Girls varsity soccer has already kicked off the start of their season and is doing very well having the first game of the season being a shutout by having the score 8-0. Red Raiders are 11-1-1 in the season as of April 28. According to ESPN Rise the Red Raiders are currently 14th in the country.
“Our goal this year is to win state, I think we have the quality with our players, but our offense needs to score goals when we need them,” said coach Kris Grabner.
An instance in which they needed that was against Glenbrook South High School which was during the Pepsi Showdown. The Pepsi showdown is a soccer tournament sponsored by Pepsi that allows the teams to gauge the competition level of each other.
The drive to win the championship this year as a team is at an all time high. There are 10 seniors on the team and most of them have been playing soccer together since they were 6 or 7. Winning the championship would be a dream come true for the girls after four consecutive Fox Valley conference wins.
The team this year is still not playing up to their full potential, because they have still not been aggressive enough in their offense, but they can still come back and finish strong with a better record. On the other hand their defense is highly aggressive its strength and endurance can be compared to that of a brick wall. The Red Raiders goalie is the center piece of this wall with a total of 28 saves, only allowing four goals in, and nine shutouts. On starters for defense there are
“Our offense needs the most work, but is still very good,” said Grabner. “Aimee Wronski a forward is one of the best attackers in the country.”
She has scored a total of 18 goals this season and four assists of our total 39 goals. Other prominent goal scoring forwards on the team are Kelly Manczko with four goals and two assists, Rachel Chapuis with three goals and four assists, and Delaney Loprieno with three goals and five assists. the last honorable mention with the most assists is Bre Burry with eight.
April 16 on Saturday had been a very intense and exciting game for all. Both Huntley High School and Glenbrook South had learned from it and it had been a clash of determination. The game had gone into overtime and then double overtime. This had then ensued with five penalty kicks. Unfortunately only four of the five penalty kicks by the Red Raiders had made it into the goal. Regrettably all of Glenbrook South High Schools goals had made it into the net giving the girls the first loss of the season.
“This game had been a great game for us overall, it was a learning experience for both teams,” said Grabner. “Both teams had made quality plays and did their best it had been a great opportunity for both teams being the Pepsi Showdown.”
The seniors believe that the one loss of the season had been their best game, because they don’t concentrate on the amount of goals scored, but the team’s overall effort.
“We are one team and are not based on individuals, and that is what makes us the best,” said Senior Bre Burry
Losing their first game this season had been hard to stomach for the girls, being as how penalty kicks depend on a lot of variables during the match and quite a bit of luck. Even though they were upset at first it helped in the long run by finding the weaknesses in the team and building on them.
“The seniors are really good leaders and we look up to them, with their leadership we have a good chance at winning state,” said junior Kelly Manczko.
Improving their skills will be no problem being as how the Red Raiders learn from their mistakes and use their loss as a learning experience to make them a better team. All of their work from this point on is going towards winning state.
“The team is going good,” said Grabner. “Our path is favorable right now we have some good possibilities ahead.”
Post Author: Tom Heagney. Tom Heagney is a junior at Huntley High School and a staff writer for The Voice. He enjoys exploring the streets of Huntley in his mini van, having great times with his friends, and spending time with his family. He is a member of the track team, has a first degree black belt in the art of Kyukido, and can be found screaming at his TV during Bears, Cubs, Bulls, and Blackhawks games. He can be found on Twitter at www.twitter.com/theagney.