Danvers Girls Soccer Kicks Off Season Tonight

Remove a half-dozen starters – including five league all-stars – from any high school soccer team’s lineup and chances are that team is going to take some time to form a cohesive unit. 

That may well be the case for this fall’s girls soccer team but the Falcons have one significant edge over many sides – the presence of three-time Northeastern Conference all-star and three-time All-State selection and Division 1 prospect Corey Persson, who should help ease the transition of players stepping into expanded roles.

The senior striker and co-captain tallied 20 goals and five assists last season, raising her career totals to 86 goals and 117 points. The Falcons finished 17-3-2 overall (second in the Northeastern Conference) and advanced to the Division 2 North Sectional title game, falling to Belmont in a shootout. 

“I feel we will be a very good team this year, but much different from the last several years. We graduated six very good players from last year’s team and five of them were all-stars. They will all be tough to replace,” said coach Jimmy Hinchion, now in his 13^th season.

“We return a good group of 14 players who I’m hoping are ready to step into bigger roles. So far in pre-season the team has showed an excellent attitude and work ethic and appears to be in great physical shape. I expect us to be a contender in the NEC but it may take us a little bit to gel as a team with so many new faces on the pitch,” he added.

Co-captain Alex Strangie, a senior midfielder, is a key component to the Falcons’ transition game and will be joined by sophomore midfielder Delaney Zecha, looking to build off a solid freshman campaign. Based on a strong rookie season, sophomore Kylie Plaza projects as the Falcons’ second primary offensive option behind Persson. Senior Mia Koutoulas logged valuable time behind the graduated Alison Tivnan last season and gets the nod in goal.

Returning letter-winners from a year ago include seniors Kristen Yost (D), Brittney Zecha (D), Katie McKenna (D) and Kylie Kellard (MF); juniors Jackie Morse (D), Chrissy Gikas (MF) and Meghan Kenny (MF); and sophomores Stephanie Kowalski (MF) and Erin Loehner (D).

“I think we will be very deep defensively and solid in goal. Goal number one will be to qualify for the State Tournament,” said Hinchion.

The Falcons open the season tonight at home with a non-league clash against Dracut (6) and kick off league play Friday night at Gloucester (6). Hinchion tabs Gloucester and Saugus as the top clubs in the NEC South and expects defending NEC North champion Peabody to once again be a force.