Female Team of the Year: Girls Soccer

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Ava Kim

The Girls Soccer team managed to get to the Finals of the State Sectionals this year. They are the 2021-2022 female team of the year.

This past season, Girls Soccer went 14-5-3. The season featured a deep run in the state tournament that ended when the team lost to Sparta in the state sectional final. 

“It’s obviously nice to go deep into the state tournament,” Coach Lombardo said. “It’s a feeling of accomplishment not for me but for my players and I think it’s something to be proud of.”

The team was led by senior captains: Alexandra Spadafino, Isabel Forcellati, and Gabriela Montopoli. On the season, Spadafino had 3 goals and 5 assists, Forcellati had 2 goals and 2 assists, and Montopoli had 2 goals and 2 assists. As captains of the team, they needed to have the ability to lead their teammates to success. 

“We motivated each other in the huddle before the game and we always had some motivational words,” Montopoli said.

Being seniors on the team, they had to make sure that the younger girls were able to be ready for the Varsity level after they graduate, so it was important that they had a connection with every girl in the program. 

“[Spadafino, Montopoli, and Forcellati] have been with me for 4 years and I think that their relationship helped them with leading a younger group of girls,” Lombardo said. “They are very good leaders and hard workers.” 

“I think a lot of it was experience, we’ve been on the team for so long that we helped the younger girls adjust to the environment,” Spadafino said.

The ability to trust each other and their teammates played a great role in the success of the team. 

“Since we are such a small team we are able to have a relationship with everyone on the team,” Forcellati said.

There were many battles throughout the season, but the one that stood out the most was the double overtime against Valley’s rival Pascack Hills. 

 “It was a nail biter that went into double overtime and I think that the girls were really excited about the win,” Lombardo said.

In their final season at Pascack Valley, the seniors made sure that it was one to remember. Never making it past the second round of the state tournament in their three prior seasons made them determined to be more successful.

“Last year the seniors said we weren’t going to make it far because they doubted our capabilities but we just defied those odds,” Montopoli said.