In the past, many female soccer players shift their athletic focus when entering high school. Norwood girls soccer coach Rebecca Newman is grateful to the Norwood Youth Soccer Program and their influence on the sport as today, many girls are now choosing to play soccer on the high school level once again.
“Across the board we are seeing more skilled players coming out this year,” Newman said. “Last year, we finished 2-16, but I think we’ll be much more competitive this fall and that’s a tribute to the local youth program.”
Leading the charge on the field will be tri-captains Erin Wagner, who is a three sport captain for the Mustangs, Tara O’Brien and Marion Donovan. Wagner, a natural according her coach, will anchor the defense and provide the vocal support to her team, while O’Brien is a hard working individual that will be asked to take on a bigger role this fall.
“We are going to be asking a lot from Tara this year. Being that we are in somewhat of a rebuilding year, I am moving her from her midfielder position to the defense to help out Erin,” Newman said. “She is a very versatile player and I am very thankful that she understands that team comes first.”
Donovan, a four year midfielder, will be looked upon as a positive role model, one that can motivate the others. According to Newman, she is also one of the hardest workers on the fields and goes hard every play.
Although still very early in the season, the Mustangs gave their coach a pleasant surprise in the opener defeating Bellingham 9-2, with six different goal scorers. Maeve Glavin, a junior midfielder who Newman expected to produce, netted two goals in the win, while Ally Steeves and Maren Giambanco also contributed two goals, and Erin McDermott, Caroline Galvin and freshman Sofia Shallmo all added single tallies.
“It’s rather unusual for to have so much offense,” Newman said. “The girls kept shooting and following their shots in all game long. We have a strong core of midfielders and strikers giving us the depth to be flexible offensively.”
As the offense continues to look for opportunities to score, on the opposite end of the field it will be up to keeper Heather Gagliard to keep the balls out of the Mustang net. Playing in her third season with the team and her second starting between the pipes, Newman is hoping she brings a trend-setting atmosphere to the rest of the team with her play.
“As a second year starter, Heather is bringing a lot of experience to the table and as her confidence continues to grow she will become the leader of the backline,” Newman said. “Her goals against is not a reflection of her ability. Last year, she had a lot of shots thrown at her.”
The Norwood Coach finds playing in the Tri-Valley League a true battle with a lot of strong soccer teams and is looking for an improvement over last season.
“We’re hoping to be more competitive this fall, looking to give it all we have, and play closer,” Newman said. “In doing so, we should be bringing our goal differential down. You always go into a season with a positive attitude, and with our experience, we have the talent to do just that.”
While Newman is looking for her team to improve over last year’s two victories, she is not all that concerned with winning and losing as long as her girls are bringing their skills to the next level.
“You can’t always look at it about being wins and losses,” Newman concluded. “It’s about hard work and being able to compete. I believe that this team will be able to do just that and compete on a higher level. In doing so, we should be able to increase our win total.”
While the Mustangs may not make a run at the post-season this fall, Newman is definitely setting them up for a long run in the future.
Building Norwood Girls Soccer
By Christopher Tremblay
In the past, many female soccer players shift their athletic focus when entering high school. Norwood girls soccer coach Rebecca Newman is grateful to the Norwood Youth Soccer Program and their influence on the sport as today, many girls are now choosing to play soccer on the high school level once again.
“Across the board we are seeing more skilled players coming out this year,” Newman said. “Last year, we finished 2-16, but I think we’ll be much more competitive this fall and that’s a tribute to the local youth program.”
Leading the charge on the field will be tri-captains Erin Wagner, who is a three sport captain for the Mustangs, Tara O’Brien and Marion Donovan. Wagner, a natural according her coach, will anchor the defense and provide the vocal support to her team, while O’Brien is a hard working individual that will be asked to take on a bigger role this fall.
“We are going to be asking a lot from Tara this year. Being that we are in somewhat of a rebuilding year, I am moving her from her midfielder position to the defense to help out Erin,” Newman said. “She is a very versatile player and I am very thankful that she understands that team comes first.”
Donovan, a four year midfielder, will be looked upon as a positive role model, one that can motivate the others. According to Newman, she is also one of the hardest workers on the fields and goes hard every play.
Although still very early in the season, the Mustangs gave their coach a pleasant surprise in the opener defeating Bellingham 9-2, with six different goal scorers. Maeve Glavin, a junior midfielder who Newman expected to produce, netted two goals in the win, while Ally Steeves and Maren Giambanco also contributed two goals, and Erin McDermott, Caroline Galvin and freshman Sofia Shallmo all added single tallies.
“It’s rather unusual for to have so much offense,” Newman said. “The girls kept shooting and following their shots in all game long. We have a strong core of midfielders and strikers giving us the depth to be flexible offensively.”
As the offense continues to look for opportunities to score, on the opposite end of the field it will be up to keeper Heather Gagliard to keep the balls out of the Mustang net. Playing in her third season with the team and her second starting between the pipes, Newman is hoping she brings a trend-setting atmosphere to the rest of the team with her play.
“As a second year starter, Heather is bringing a lot of experience to the table and as her confidence continues to grow she will become the leader of the backline,” Newman said. “Her goals against is not a reflection of her ability. Last year, she had a lot of shots thrown at her.”
The Norwood Coach finds playing in the Tri-Valley League a true battle with a lot of strong soccer teams and is looking for an improvement over last season.
“We’re hoping to be more competitive this fall, looking to give it all we have, and play closer,” Newman said. “In doing so, we should be bringing our goal differential down. You always go into a season with a positive attitude, and with our experience, we have the talent to do just that.”
While Newman is looking for her team to improve over last year’s two victories, she is not all that concerned with winning and losing as long as her girls are bringing their skills to the next level.
“You can’t always look at it about being wins and losses,” Newman concluded. “It’s about hard work and being able to compete. I believe that this team will be able to do just that and compete on a higher level. In doing so, we should be able to increase our win total.”
While the Mustangs may not make a run at the post-season this fall, Newman is definitely setting them up for a long run in the future.