Experience could be an asset for Derry girls soccer

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, August 17, 2018 | 5:33 PM

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Derry’s girls soccer team went from the playoffs to restocking last year.

Many young or inexperienced players were pressed into duty last fall, and the team finished 1-16.

The good news for the Trojans, though, is that most of those players return to the team.

“We had only two starters returning, and it was basically just finding athletes to play. I coach track as well, and I was trying to find anyone with athletic ability to come play,” Derry coach Mark Curcio said. “So, last year, it was just a bunch of athletes with as much soccer as we could teach them in two or three months.

“We started with a roster of 14 players and finished with 12, so a lot of these girls returning averaged 80 minutes a game for 16 games. That’s a positive because it’s a lot of soccer. Their initial introduction to the game was varsity experience; it didn’t come in JV or in small shifts.”

Now that most of the players can build on their experience, Derry hopes to make progress.

“Last year, we had a lot of new players. This year, we have experience, and we know what we’re doing. It’s not like we’re just learning the game,” Derry junior captain Olexei Nuttall said. “Our passes are much cleaner; we can get the ball to each other, and our shooting is on. We have a lot of speed, too. We can agree it’s a team goal to try to make it to playoffs this year.”

The returning players are reinforced by a promising freshman class.

“We do have a very strong freshman class with experience at Cup level in travel soccer,” Curcio said. “We don’t want to put too much pressure on them, though.”

At striker, Bethany Allen and Sydney Williams could see time for Derry. Nuttall leads the midfield with Leila Quidetto, Emily Boldish, Hayey Barnhart and Marissa Wimer, who could move to forward, as well. Mackenzie Edmiston and Megan Baker are on defense, while Barnhart could move back, as well. Freshman Faith Shean takes over in goal.

“Faith has been training with (former Derry standout) Maya Hackman, who was an all-WPIAL goalie and arguably the best goalie in Derry soccer history. She’s been working with her since she was in sixth grade. She has the training and ability to be pretty good.”

Nuttall and Barnhart are two holdovers from the 2016 WPIAL playoff squad. Nuttall is a captain for the second year in a row.

“She definitely matured with that title. This offseason, she has given 110 percent toward team building,” Curcio said. “She was at offseason training three days a week almost every time. The girls look up to her in that respect. She has the most varsity experience, too. She was a starter on that playoff team as a freshman.”

Nuttall and the rest of the returning players have done their best to blend the freshmen into the group.

“Coming in, they are used to middle school soccer, so it’s more of a challenge for them, but they’ve adjusted pretty well,” she said. “We have a good bond now. Hopefully, we can keep that up.”

The Trojans expect the Section 3-AA schedule to be tough once again, but hope to make some progress.

“We have had a strong camp thus far with a lot of girls stepping up – but it’s a whole different game during section play,” Curcio said. “I am excited to see the strides we can make as the future is very bright.”

Joe Sager is a freelance writer.

Tags: Derry Area