Back to the comfort zone

HSMSE girls' soccer team / John D. Louie

The High School for Math, Science, and Engineering girls’ soccer team returned to the B-Division with a bang this year. The Lady Dragons responded by showing that they were at home by going 9-2 in the regular season. As the second best team in their league they advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

You need to look no further than the ‘09-’10 season to see when the team last had a record this good, going 10-0. That year they also managed to win one playoff game. “They all just work better together now,” said first year senior goalkeeper Fahmida Ferdousi. “They are more coordinated.”

This year’s team replicated the success of the ‘09-’10 team. The only difference was their two losses. Both losses were matches against the undefeated Julia Richman Educational Center. A key reason for their first 5-0 defeat against Richman on September 15, 2012 was the absence of sophomore defender Sahar Saedi and Ferdousi. In their rematch on October 8, 2012, they managed to keep the score at 2-0. The players on defense came back in the game and played well.

“When we were put in the A-Division, it was really great because we played amazing teams, but we weren’t ready for it,” said senior defender Sara Louie about the drop from the A-Division. The team went 4-9 last season, an impressive record for a school that has a size of about 450 students. They were matched up against teams like Stuyvesant and Beacon High School (who later went on to win the championship that year).

Although many players will be leaving next year, the future is bright for the Lady Dragons. Their youth shows much promise and many of the seniors feel positive of the seasons to come. “Sahar’s powerful kicks, they really stand out,” said Ferdousi. “There [also] was Galit [Wiener]. She’s very fast and I think she steals the ball fairly easily from other players.”

“I am very optimistic about the team’s future,” said coach Regina Zafonte. “Although we are losing quite a few stars – Felicia, Sara, Tammi, Leila, Hannah, Gabby, Fahmida – I have no doubt that new talent will emerge and existing players will step up their game to fill those absent cleats.”

Contributed to by Sadeon Martin