by BRIANNA SICILIANO Photo & Video Editor
The MTHS girls varsity soccer team has started their season off with success, and they plan to keep it that way.
With outstanding leadership, team captains Taylor Evanchik (9) and Demi Rousseau (2) get the team pumped and playing to the best of their ability.
“All of our seniors are great role models and leaders. They work hard and never give up. We have a lot of youth [on our team]. Our sophomore class has a very talented group of players,” said head coach Ms. Kathleen Dillon.
Many people may assume that soccer is a simple sport, not realizing how challenging the activity really is. Skilled soccer players have to work on endurance, speed, and strength.
The girls on MTHS’s varsity soccer team strive for the best and never give up. Their motto for this season is “Relentless hard work, passion, pride.”
Members of the soccer team spend many hours a week practicing and training for their upcoming games. When watching these girls practice, you see first hand how dedicated and talented these girls are while playing the sport that they love.
The team trains almost every day of the week in order to stay in shape. Their workouts include a lot of running and conditioning. During every other practice, the team completes workouts, which include squats, push-ups, mountain climbers, and planks.
“Our team has gotten super close this year. We do team building outside of school to keep our strong bond. There is a lot of hard work and training put into the team, but it is definitely worth it. I’ve made many close friends and stay in great shape throughout the season,” said junior Lauren Gaskel (22).
This season, the girls aspire to do well in their division. The soccer team, along with boys soccer and football, is one of very few Monroe teams that is in the Red Division, which is the toughest division.
The team hopes to get into the Greater Middlesex County (GMC) tournament with a good seed, so that they can pull off some big wins.
“Our team would like to be highly competitive in the Group IV State tournament this season,” says Coach Dillion.
The team has started off the year with some amazing games. The girls kicked off the season with a 4-1 victory against Piscataway, which was the powerhouse team in their division last year.
Next, the girls tied East Brunswick, the returning Division and Conference champions, 1-1.
The girls also beat South Brunswick, a very competitive team, with a score of 4-1.
“It felt awesome knowing that our team is able to compete with and play up to the level of teams of that caliber. It helped prove ourselves as a team and it was empowering,” says junior Sarah Hager (1).
With many more games to come, the team is looking forward to winning as many victories as possible.
“I think our team has everything it takes to be successful this season. I am very proud of each and every player on our roster. We know what we have to do to be successful, now we just have to execute it,” says Coach Dillon.
Have you checked out our amazing lady soccer team yet?