Coach: 'You Love to Have Players Like Jenna Cantor'

Watching Jenna Cantor during her freshman season at in 2008, Bulldogs coach Haroot Hakopian could already get a sense of the type of player Cantor would ultimately become.

 “It was pretty obvious right away, even during the first two weeks of preseason practice her freshman year, that Jenna was a very, very talented and very versatile player,” Hakopian said.

An extremely advanced player for her age, it didn’t take long for Cantor to establish herself as a focal point of the Bulldogs’ offensive attack.

But for as good as she was her freshman year Cantor has only gotten better during each of the past three seasons.

She scored eight goals as a sophomore, a team-best 12 as a junior and has already tallied nine goals throughout the first three games of this year.

Led by Cantor, a forward, the Bulldogs have started this season 4-0.

Cantor has tallied at least one goal in each of the first four games.

“She’s obviously going to play a big part in our success this year,” Hakopian said of Cantor, who will play collegiate level soccer at Cornell University. “She’s such a motivated, highly driven athlete that loves the game, loves her teammates and is intense for every second that she’s on the field.

“As a coach, you love to have players like Jenna.”

Cantor credits Hakopian for playing a major role in her development and subsequent success.

“[Coach Hakopian] motivates us to be our very best on and off the field,” Cantor said. “He is such a dedicated coach and he has created a sense of family among us. He is such an important part of my soccer life, and I wouldn't be the person I am without him.”

Now in her last season playing under Hakopian, Cantor said she is determined to make this a season to remember for Churchill's soccer program.

In order for that to happen, Hakopian said Cantor would have to play a different role than what she's been accustomed to in the past.

With other teams well aware of Cantor’s ability at this point, Hakopian expects opposing defenses to focus more attention on Cantor than they have in previous years and will need Cantor to expand her game as a senior.

Instead of sticking to her role of goal-scorer, Hakopian would like Cantor to become more of a facilitator this season, hoping she can take advantage of that extra attention, and use it to create more scoring opportunities for her teammates.

“Other teams are definitely going to try to take her away,” Hakopian said. “We’re just going to counteract that, which is something Jenna is already showing an understanding for doing.”

Cantor, embracing her new role, downplayed the importance of goals or individual accolades.

“My main goal is just for our team to have a successful season,” Cantor said. “I’m just going to give it my all this year and it would be incredible if we could put it all together and win a regional championship.”

If she succeeds, the Bulldogs may win the team’s first regional championship in program history.

Correction: The original story misstated the school Jenna Cantor has signed with. We regret the error.