The names and faces change each year, but the success of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School girls' soccer program has remained a constant as the team's upperclassmen have passed its winning tradition onto the newcomers.
Three years ago, Emily Nagourney and Avika Shah were eager freshmen who showed tremendous promise and made modest contributions to a powerful Scotch Plains-Fanwood team that beat Westfield in the county finals for their third straight title. Now, as seniors, they form the cornerstones of a 14-1-3 team that has a fluid mix of senior experience and underclassmen talent that bodes well for the future. On the first Sunday night of November, in frigid weather, they showed their all-around skills as the Raiders completed a double trifecta of sorts by defeating Westfield 2-0 at Kean University.
It was an unprecedented third victory this season for the Raiders over their biggest rivals, and also marked the third county title for the duo. It was an accomplishment made even sweeter because it helped to erase the disappointment from 2009, when Cranford upset Scotch Plains-Fanwood 1-0 in the county finals.
"Beating Westfield three times in one season is very difficult," Shah said. "They were extra determined out there tonight and we had to be at our best to win. The defense and Paige were great and we had enough offense to win.
"It's good to get the title back," she added. "Everything seemed to go wrong in that championship game last year. It's an amazing feeling to go out as champions our senior year. We worked so hard to make this happen., Shah scored all three Scotch Plains-Fanwood goals in the team's previous 2-1 and 1-0 victories over Westfield earlier this year. She also had an assist on the team's second goal Sunday night, which helped clinch the game.
"Avika has great vision and is a tremendous passer. She has always had that gift since her freshman year" head coach Kevin Ewing said. He was still wet from a water shower his jubilant team gave him after the victory, his fifth title in six years.
Nagourney a wondrous all-around talent, had two tremendous scoring chances that were stopped by fine saves. Mainly a defensive midfielder during her career, Nagourney was asked to help more in the offense this year and she has responded with nine goals, many of them game changers. Nagourney and Shah have also demonstrated an uncanny awareness of each other's field location.
"They are great complementary players. They feed off each other's strengths and never seem to be out of position. They make it easy to coach," Ewing said.
As seniors and team leaders, Shah and Nagourney as well as fellow seniors Gaby Vacca and goalie Paige Della Badia, extend the winning tradition to Raider stars of tomorrow like freshman Katherine Cunningham, who shows the poise of someone much older.
"They make it easy for me because they tell me to treat this like another game. I look up to them because they are such great players and have won so much," said Cunningham.
"I was a little worried about replacing what we lost last year, but the young players have come through very well and made this a good season," Ewing said. "The seniors have been great leaders and that's what we try and do each year. We like to always have experience returning and bring in a new group.
"The winning helps with each new class that comes in," he added. "They see how hard we work and how it had paid off with success each year. It makes it easy for the new players to buy into what we are trying to achieve.
Nagourney said she agreed. "There is definitely a tradition here that Coach Ewing has built and every player realizes they are not bigger than the program. We all learn from his system which is based on teamwork and passing and it gets passed on to the younger players," she said. Nagourney will join John Hopkins next year, following in the footsteps of former Raiders star Allie Zazzali.
"There is no doubt that we will be replaced and that Coach Ewing will have them winning more championships," Nagourney said, who, along with Shah, has demonstrated the confidence that comes with continual success.
Shah added, "We respect our opponents and realize how difficult it is to get to the championship game each year. There are a lot of talented teams out there that play their best against us because we have been so successful." Shah said she will play at Babson College next year.
Ewing will have seemingly irreplaceable seniors graduating he can feel comfortable with the younger players poised to lead the 2011 team and keep the tradition going.
"It only works if you have talented players as your leaders and we have been fortunate with that each year."
No comments:
Post a Comment