HSMSE Girls' Soccer returns to playoffs after promotion to A League

The HSMSE girls’ soccer team is coming off another successful season. They followed up their 2014 PSAL B League championship season with a 2015 playoff appearance in the PSAL A League.

After last season’s undefeated 14-0 record and a championship in the B League, the Dragons were promoted to the Bronx / Manhattan A Division, where they had to adjust to better competition. While the B Division featured players who usually competed for just the three month season, the A Division had players who participated in games year-round in leagues outside of school. Coach Regina Zafonte noted the improved caliber of teams the Dragons had to face.

HSMSE Girls' Soccer Team / HSMSE Yearbook

“The speed and pace is much faster,” Zafonte said. “There are a lot more talented and technical players.”

Despite the challenges they faced, the Dragons managed to place third in their division, making the playoffs with a 7-5 record. Zafonte credits the girls’ success to the team staying focused and working together on the field.

“We had to be really coordinated with our offensive attacks,” Zafonte said. “We had to make sure we were constantly communicating and our defense was solid, because we were going to be tested many times.”

Throughout the season, the Dragons had many memorable moments. They won their first round playoff game against McKee/Staten Island Tech. In addition to their playoff victory, they were the only team to score against Beacon High School in two separate matches, and defeated eventual champion Bronx Science during the regular season.

“I think that as a team, we exceeded our goals,” Zafonte said. “We did things during the season that were really impressive.”

Next year, the team will have to adjust to the departure of four seniors: Taylor Faulds, Maggie Haxhia, Galit Wiener, and Taieesha Peshkovsky, who was selected to play in the prestigious Mayors’ Cup. Despite these obstacles, the Dragons still have high expectations for next season.

“We would like to make the playoffs again,” Zafonte said. “We also want to fill the spots that are going to be open. If we win a championship, that’s a bonus.”

HSMSE girls' soccer outlook for the 2015 season

The HSMSE girls’ soccer team won the PSAL B division championship in 2014, but questions surround the team repeating its success as they move to the A division in 2015.

 

HSMSE Girls Varsity Soccer Team / PSAL

The team winning the championship was a very impressive feat by itself, but it is even more impressive because of the small school size. There are approximately 450 students that attend HSMSE.  Not only did the team win the championship, but they also dominated the regular season by going undefeated.

The team will try to repeat its overwhelming success when they move to the Manhattan A Division next season. This move comes with a lot of hard work and dedication, as the girls must respond to the higher level of competition; however, Coach Zafonte is confident in the team, citing past experience and the team’s talent as strengths.

“We have been in the A Division before, so we can expect the faster level of play,” Zafonte said. “ I think we have a lot of talented players who can compete.”

The expectations for the upcoming season are still very high despite the team moving up in the competition. Coach Zafonte does not set expectations that revolve around results, but more so around the effort and intensity the team plays with. This is not the first time the team has been in the A division, which means that they know what to expect and they know how to prepare for the upcoming season.

The preparations that Coach Zafonte are making for the upcoming season have not changed drastically. She plans to have the team do a lot of conditioning and workouts with the team to help prepare for the faster pace of A division. The girls’ team will need this conditioning because they will not be able just outrun their opponents like they have been able to do in B division.

Another challenge Zafonte is facing with the upcoming season is the loss of five seniors. This will leave only 13 returning players for the upcoming season, leaving the team to rely on a strong freshman class of players for the upcoming season.

Co-author Michael Stern.

HSMSE Lady Dragons win PSAL Class B girls’ soccer championship

HSMSE Girls' soccer team - Evgeni Dobranov

The High School for Math, Science, and Engineering girls’ soccer team won the PSAL Girls' B Soccer championship 3-1 in a penalty shootout against Julia Richman on Sunday, November 9th. The teams were tied 1-1 at the end of overtime on Randall’s Island Field 10. This tight victory marks HSMSE’s first ever citywide varsity championship.

From the first whistle, the Lady Dragons played aggressive, but couldn't maintain solid control. In the first four minutes, Richman had two corners and forced a save on sophomore goalkeeper Annabelle Shultz.

 “I definitely felt more pressure [over last game],” Shultz said. “Last game, after we scored the first goal, we were so set that we were going to win and kept scoring more and more. In this, we were 1-0 almost the entire game.”

The game soon changed direction when sophomore midfielder Hillary Rodriguez assisted sophomore forward Jacqueline Hall in the seventh minute.

Things got really awkward for the Lady Dragons at the start of the second half. Both senior defender Sahar Saedi and freshman midfielder Alex West were shown yellow cards on consecutive plays. West received her yellow for a delay of game right as Saedi was returning to the field after the action died. On the ensuring play, Saedi received a yellow card for a rough foul.

“[The delay] was because Sahar came back and she was supposed to take the goal kick,” West said. “My foot hurt and so I couldn't kick it that far, and I didn't want them to get the ball and score. I was trying to get away from the ball.”

The nail biting game was the greatest challenge for the Lady Dragons all season. Richman’s 52nd minute equalizer was the first time the Lady Dragons were tied this year. The girls weren’t fazed by this new challenge, as the Dragons fought hard to win the game until the final whistle. With one minute left, Hall found herself past Richman’s goalkeeper with the ball, but two defenders were waiting on goal. Hall’s shot deflected off a defender and hit the post, giving the Lady Dragons the last corner before overtime.

The two teams, weary from 80 minutes of regulation play, faced another 20 minutes of overtime to determine who would win the championship. Both teams teetered on the brink of scoring during the overtime period; however, Shultz managed two great saves to keep the Lady Dragons in the game.

co-captains Yael Saiger and Galit Wiener with Zafonte -  Batya Wiener

The first penalty taker was West, who upon scoring, quickly put on gloves to be the stand-in goalkeeper. To the average spectator, this came as a surprise, but coach Regina Zafonte made the team practice penalties on West during the post-season. West never saved any official penalties, but was mere inches away from stopping Richman’s first. Hall and junior midfielder Taieesa Peshkovsky scored the next two while Richman missed their remaining chances.

“I knew that Alex has been trained to do this and I was so confident in her,” Schultz said.

The undefeated season ended in a deserving championship for the Lady Dragons. According to tradition, the champions will be brought up to A-Division. It will be interesting to see how the team takes on the tough challenge next season. The current seniors are the only players to have experienced the A-Division before the team was dropped to the A-Division in the 2012-2013 season. For now, the only certainty is that the champions have much to be proud of.

“It’s the most amazing experience," said Zafonte. "I’m just happy that all this hard work for the past two months culminated in success and the better team did win today. It feels amazing.”

HSMSE Lady Dragons reach PSAL Class B girls' soccer playoff finals

HSMSE girls' soccer team - Lisa Gordis

The High School for Math, Science and Engineering girls’ soccer team won 6-1 in their 2014 PSAL Class B semi-final match against Herbert H. Lehman High School on November 11, 2014.  Their victory sets up a final match against Julia Richman Educational Campus at 10AM on Sunday November 9th at Randall's Island Field 10. The game will be broadcasted live online via the NFHS Network.

The Dragons comfortable win was a result of a combination of constant hustle, an aggressive mindset, and their experience in the playoffs.

“This is the best team we've ever had at MSE,” said coach Regina Zafonte. “They know how to channel their nerves into positive energy and do amazing things. These guys are now experienced playoff players and can handle the pressure.”

Freshman midfielder Alex West was seemingly everywhere on the pitch. West controlled the midfield with her aggressiveness and superb ball handling. When given the opportunity, West took shots from outside of the box, resulting in two spectacular goals. Despite her tremendous impact on both the game and the season, West remained humble in victory.

"Being aggressive, man marking their best player, and getting the step ahead by scoring the first two goals in the start [won us the match]," said West.

Another player who embodied the team’s hustle mentality was junior forward Galit Wiener. All three of her goals in the game came after sprinting for either crosses or deflections off of Lehman’s goalkeeper.

"We all came out determined," said Wiener. "We've been to the playoffs before and have been let down. We knew it could happen again and we've come so far already, so we wanted to give it our best. Everyone played 100%."

The Lady Dragons’ back line was just as impressive as their offense. The defense didn't even give Lehman a shot on goal for the first 30 minutes of the game. In fact, the most pressure sophomore goalkeeper Annabelle Shultz faced were from five corners that were easily cleared due to the great defending. The only slip up was a late goal, but the Lady Dragons were already up 6-0 at that point.

“Our defense was impenetrable," said Zafonte. “They were first to the ball and didn't allow anybody to get by them.”

The team's push to the finals has been a result of both quality leadership and great team chemistry. If the continue to play with the same sense of urgency and aggressiveness in the final, the team could bring HSMSE its first citywide varsity championship in school history.

"We have very good chances [in the final]," said West. "We're very good together working as a team and we're good at stepping up to the challenge."

A flawless season

The 2013 HSMSE girls’ soccer team had a perfect record of 13-0 in regular season games and earned the third overall seed in the PSAL “B” division . The team met an unfortunate end in their first game playoff game, losing 1-0 to Robert F. Wagner Jr. High School.

This season, a large part of the team’s flawless record was due to freshman forward Jacqueline Hall. She scored a total of 35 goals this regular season. With three more seasons to go, Hall is sure to continue to get better.

"I feel that I have improved a lot this year than I did with my middle school team,” Hall said.

We can expect to the team to be even stronger next season.

Regina Zafonte has coached the girls’ soccer team for six years. This year’s team was her best team so far.

“They collaborated and displayed great offense and defense,” Zafonte said.

Most of the team consisted of underclassmen, so next season they will be able to fill the holes that the seniors leave behind. With or without the seniors we can expect nothing less from the girls. The team still has the necessary characteristics to carry them through the seasons to come.