Dedham Girls' Soccer Looks to Replace Lost Seniors

Despite losing four seniors, including the all-time leading scorer, from last year's Bay State Conference Herget Division championship team, the Dedham High girls' soccer team is looking forward to another successful season on the pitch. 

The Marauders kick off their conference schedule at Wellesley on Friday.

The Needham field hockey and golf teams also begin play today with field hockey hosting Bay State Conference rival Needham at 3:45, while the golf team travels to Needham Golf Course to take on the Rockets at 3:30.

Even without Patrice Vettori, who had 122 goals over her four-year career at Dedham High and who is now playing at Boston College, the girls' soccer squad should still have a solid offensive unit. 

"I think we will be able to score goals," said coach Don Savi. "Obviously no one will be able to score like [Vettori] did, but we're going to have a bunch of other kids pick up the slack this year.

"We just have to make sure our defensive is strong," he continued. "How well they do early in the season is going to be key for us."

A key part of that defense is new goaltender Ellen Masalsky, a sophomore.  Masalsky replaces senior graduation loss Cara Corcoran.

The girls have had a demanding pre-season, with games against North Quincy, Acton Boxboro, Noble and Greenough, and Marshfield.  A recent scrimmage with Bay State Conference foe Needham resulted in a tie with two points for each team.  Jenna Savi, the top returning scorer from last season, and Maria Coppola both put the ball in the net for the Marauders.

The biggest challenge for the team this season could be remaining healthy.  There have already had a couple injuries, and the girls got "a little nicked up" during a few of the scrimmages.  

Making sure that the younger players on the team gel with the rest of the team will be a focus of Savi's.  He said the seniors have done an excellent job thus far of stepping up and leading. Savi also said he was pleased with the effort the team put in during the extreme heat of last week. 

"They were very good about it," he said.  "They've worked extremely hard.  I have no complaints about their effort."