St. Ed’s varsity girls soccer team settled into first place at 5-0 in District 10-1A after defeating Pine School at home last week. A district encounter with John Carroll was canceled last Friday night because of excessive rain. It was rescheduled for early January.
The Pirates (6-1 overall) have critical district matches with Holy Trinity Episcopal and John Carroll on the docket this week. Those games complete the 2015 portion of the season prior to an extended break for the holidays.
Only two more regular-season games are scheduled after the New Year – the make-up game vs. John Carroll and a non-district rematch with Fort Pierce Westwood. The district playoffs open January 12.
By all measures the season has been highly productive, but that lone 4-0 defeat to Boca Raton Christian in November may hold the key to how deep St. Ed’s advances through the postseason.
A year ago Head Coach Jaclyn Pancotti took over an experienced team from Hall of Famer and current Athletic Director Jeff Lamscha. Her first team reeled off 15 straight without a loss before dropping the final two when it counted the most. That dream season ended abruptly and these Pirates are determined to change the script.
“I think the loss was the best thing that happened to us this year,” Pancotti said. “It showed the girls that we are not invincible. Their heads have shrunken back to normal size. They now know that even when we work very hard we are beatable. We just need to work harder because anything can happen at any moment.
“We lost nine seniors and we are pretty young with only three seniors on the team this year. But a lot of the girls were on the team last year when we lost the district championship to Holy Trinity. That was our first loss of the season. (As the district runner-up, St. Ed’s was also defeated in the regional quarterfinals).
“Everyone is very focused on getting back to the district finals, facing Holy Trinity again, and coming away with a different outcome,” Pancotti said.
An offense driven by Mia Festagallo and Alex Marshall packs enough potential firepower to be a force when the playoffs start. The senior-laden defense from a year ago was completely revamped in front of veteran rock-solid goalkeeper Kyrstin Malek.
“Mia is definitely the heart and soul of our team,” Pancotti told us. “She plays center-mid and has this amazing eye on the field. She doesn’t care about stats and will give up any goal if she sees a better opportunity for someone else. She will get back on defense. She just never gives up.”
Pancotti is counting on co-captains Alyssa Motta and Festagallo to provide leadership both on and off the field – and keep the entire team focused on a goal everyone understands.
“I think getting that loss out of the way was really good,” Festagallo said. “We needed that test to show us that we are not the best. Now we are definitely going to train ever harder.
“I would like to see us win the district championship and get a better playoff position than last year. Overall we have really good chemistry and I try to make sure all the girls get along so we are able to play well together. I like being able to say that I am part of a winning team.”
Festagallo, a junior, has been a mainstay on the varsity since 6th grade. Motta came to St. Ed’s and joined the varsity as a sophomore. She became a starter as a junior and secured the position she wanted as a senior.
“I play defense on the left side,” Motta said. “That was the spot I was determined to get. Every game is a challenge. It was hard losing nine seniors and in the beginning we weren’t really sure, but we have definitely meshed together well. I think we can go further than we did last year. I’m really excited.”
Senior Caroline Campione started playing soccer at age 4 and took a break before picking it up again as a sophomore. She has contributed to the offense and defense from her midfield position.
“The first time I scored it didn’t feel real,” Campione said. “I said, ‘Wait, did I actually do that?’ It was an awesome feeling.
“This team took a little bit of getting used to because we lost a lot of seniors. I took some time for us to break the ice, but I think this team is stronger than it’s ever been over my three seasons. And it’s a young team so we’ll be okay for the next few years,” Campione added.
“If you have a winning team, but the chemistry is not good, then it just isn’t fun at all. It’s not worth it. I would rather have a team that is close-knit than one that wins all the time but is not close. But we are winning and that’s the best of both worlds.”