By Frankie Rizzo ’19 and Josie Berger ’20

After a season last year that ended 5-10-2, the West Essex Varsity Girls Soccer team aims to bounce back into a championship contender. Captains Daria Wendell, Julia Farese, Brielle Krause and Maddie Galligan lead this year’s team into the fray.

Currently the team has a record of 10-5-1 with a conference record of 3-3. Their three conference wins include a thriller against Colombia where Bailey Schuster knocked in a goal with less than a minute left to come out on top 2-1.

“[Columbia] had a very aggressive, outstanding goalkeeper,” Coach Cirello said in an Oct. 3 interview. “Our girls worked hard to score that last goal. That was definitely one of our most notable wins.”

Cirello also said that the team’s chemistry is very strong on and off the field, which helps their performance as a unit. Captains Daria Wendell and Brielle Krause agreed that this was the case.

“As leaders it is important that we unite the team,” Wendell said. “We will go get ice cream together before a big game. We also watch the boys games together and take some things away from their play as well as use the opportunity to talk and bond.”

“We make sure that we have team-bonding moments outside of just practice and games,” Krause said. “Whether we have a psych up or go out to lunch, we hang out outside of soccer which helps us become a true family.”

The senior captains are not the only ones making an impact on the team this season. Junior Cam Marino is making her third appearance on the varsity roster. Currently she has one goal and three assists on the year.

She started her career as a freshman looking for advice from her upperclassmen, and now two years later is in the reverse role as a model to her younger teammates.

“As a freshman the senior captains were very welcoming, and made every underclassmen feel comfortable while also setting the bar high regarding worth ethic and attitude,” Marino said. “As a junior this season it is important to display leadership at all times, setting an example for underclassmen and the team as a whole.”

With these leaders come four freshman to the team. Sammy Balzano, Emma Ribeiro, Georgia Tarullo and Julia Conforti have worked to make a mark on the varsity field.
“Being on varsity is everything I expected,” Conforti said. “It’s super fun and the level of play is more physical. I love playing for the school and representing West Essex.”
All of the freshman players have had training in order to achieve their goal of playing varsity soccer in high school.

“To make varsity as a freshman over the summer I did extra goal keeper trainings and I ran a lot so I could have good fitness levels going in,” Tarullo said.
With the post season lurking, the West Essex Girls Soccer Team are going to look for their best game to date. They will look to get a high seed in the playoffs with a strong end of the year stretch.