Emma Sargent ’18: As they approach the most widely anticipated game of the season against arch-rival Agnes Irwin, the Varsity Girl’s Soccer team agrees: it’ll be tough, but they can win it. In the words of Coach Celeste Sweeney, “We’re going to battle with Agnes Irwin and it’s going to be great competition. Tt is every single year.. I’ve seen them play and I definitely think that we can beat them because we’re the better team.”
The EA Girl’s varsity team has had a good season so far with three wins, one tie, and two losses. “We’re about equal right now,” said Sweeney when asked about AIS’s team’s skill level. Hannah Moriarty ’18 agreed, saying, “They’re a good team. They’re really strong, but we’re better.” Their EA/AIS Day game will not be the team’s first encounter with Agnes Irwin’s strong team. The two teams played in an Inter-Ac game in mid-October. EA lost 4-3 in the last minute of the game. However, EA’s team is confident that they can make a comeback. Moriarty explained, “We just need to get fired up and pay attention to the little things that added up to the goals that they scored.” Sweeney continued, stating, “Our team is very fast; we have fast forwards and fast midfielders, and so in order to beat this team we really need to make sure that our transition from having the ball in our defensive end to our offensive end is very quick. That’s going to be the biggest thing for us. We need to have what we call ‘quick transition,’ and if we can do that, we’ll have no problems.”
Sweeney also stressed the strength of her team and of the individual players, saying, “Our top players right now are Molly O’Brien, a sophomore, Jessica Shanahan, a junior, and Taylor Long, our goalie (senior).” Sweeney further discussed the seniors’ impact on the time indicating that “their leadership this year has been amazing whether or not they’re a captain. I think that’s what has helped us to do so well and to be at the spot we’re in this year compared to other seasons.”
Photo Courtesy of Maggie Mengel ’17
Beyond the physical abilities of the team, both Sweeney and Moriarty are especially proud of the team’s cohesion. “One of our big highlights has been our overall team comradery. The girls have really been playing like a team. Our theme this year is ‘together,’ so they’ve really been working together as a team both on and off the field,” said Sweeney. Moriarty agreed, “We’re just always a close-knit team.” At the end of the day, Sweeney explained that teamwork is the most important thing. “Our main goal for the season is to win the Inter-Ac and to win the league, but it’s also to win it as a team. We play together, every single game.”