The North Arlington girls’ soccer team worked hard all summer long. Coming back from a rebuilding year and ending the season 2-12-2, the lady Vikings are trying to find their rhythm and getting back on track to a winning season. “Winning more games and improving our skills as a team is our number 1 goal” Coach Sharon O’Brien-Romer stated. As usual, the girls have taken part in the Kearny summer soccer league and had a good experience at building chemistry between players. The lady Vikings are lucky to have 10 returning varsity players and have a good chance of having a successful season.
Six of the returning players are seniors who have experience from playing and collaborating with each other. Three of those seniors are captains: Tiffany Sanchez, Kimberly Mosher and Tiffany Matos. Each captain has a certain duty to fulfill on the field and each has accepted the leadership role of being captain of this Viking team.
Captain Tiffany Sanchez has the role of scoring goals with freshman Taylor Barth and sophomore Tatiana Balugas. Captain Kimberly Mosher has been playing since freshman year and has earned her rightful spot of captain – she’s also a very good forward. Captain Tiffany Matos has the role of controlling the defense at stopper with sophomore sweeper Cristina Nardini. Other players include senior Destiny Russo and junior Amanda Awad as left and right backs.
The lady Vikings have many strong key players on all aspects of the field such as: juniors Mackenzie Cutruzzula and Melissa Gilmour, and senior Christina Meyers. They too have been working with the defense and forwards to obtain victories.
The lady Vikings’ season opener against Queen of Peace was a very exciting game. Watching 10 goals in total hit the back of the net had the crowd and players on the edge of their seats. Freshman Taylor Barth had a hat trick and senior captain Tiffany Sanchez had her first goal of the season. Although the lady Vikings played a great game, they lost 6-4. The Vikings had a tough start by losing the first three games but got right back on track with their 1-0 win over Harrison. Junior Nathalye Ribeiro has earned her first shutout of the season, and will have many more.
The girls recently played Weehawken in an intense game that exceeded to extra time. Cristina Nardini scored with an assist by Taylor Barth. The girls are starting a new week on a fresh note and have the confidence to win more games. The lady Vikings have improved their record to 2-4, and their next game is against Saddle Brook.