Nadeau and Hornets Have One Goal In Mind

So much has changed since the North Reading girls' soccer team began pre-season workouts in August. But ask Juliette Nadeau and the 17-year-old senior disagrees. The goal remains the same. Nothing has changed.

"Our goals were really to get back to Manning and the playoffs because we lost all of our starting lineup basically, like six girls from our starting lineup," said Nadeau. "Everyone was like 'oh, they're not going to be good this year,' so our whole thing was just to prove we had the core of the team and we were going to get back to the playoffs."

At 7-2-1 after beating Manchester Essex Wednesday, the Hornets are well on their way to a return trip to Lynn. But between last season, which ended with a 2-1 loss in penalty kicks to Newburyport in the Division 3 North final at Manning Field, and a sunny October practice day, the roster has changed and not in a good way. After spring track season, senior forward Rachel Hill went down with an injury and is sitting out the fall season. Then, in the fourth game against Ipswich, senior Karlie Vesey hurt her knee and is now out for the year. Minus two of the top offensive threats, the goals must have changed.

"Not really," said Nadeau. "We knew coming in [Rachel] wasn't going to be playing."

And losing Karlie?

"It made it a lot more difficult because [Karlie] was a big part of our midfield and she kind of controlled the whole middle of the field. But I think we've been able to fill in for her a little bit and we have been doing well since we lost her."

Coach Sean Killeen agreed but knows the road ahead will be more difficult minus Hill and Vesey.

"Rachel was a four-year player. Karlie was having a fantastic start to her senior year, she had a great junior year. We're definitely easier to defend but between the other kids stepping up and Juliette being able to push herself a little bit harder, has been critical to our success. Jerlin Kaithamattam (2 goals, 2 assists in last two games) as well has really stepped up to try and fill in some of those points.

"That wasn't an easy blow for us to lose Karley. Rachel we didn't have since the beginning of the season so everything we were doing was without Rachel, which was still a huge hit. That changed losing Karley four games in."

As principal at the LD Batchelder School, Killeen has a short walk to practice at the neighboring high school. The Beverly High School graduate is in his third stint as head girls' coach at North Reading, a total of 12 years on the sidelines. For the last four it's been made easier by Nadeau, one of the team captains and leading scorer.

"She's a four-year varsity player, she's a leader on the field," said Killeen. "She's committed herself to the game of soccer although she's a tremendous track athlete and I think kids just respect that about her. She leads by example. She's a quieter leader as far as far as the vocal part, which I think is even more of a credit to get noticed by her teammates when you're not somebody who is always yelling or trying to motivate."

Being captain is all about leadership and relationships. Scoring goals is about talent.

"Her speed is dangerous, her body control is really remarkable," said Killeen of Nadeau, who has 11 goals and 6 assists in the Hornets' 10 games including two goals and an assist against Manchester Essex. "She can cut pretty quickly. She uses her body very well. She's not a big kid. She doesn't have a lot of weight to her but she uses her body very well. She uses her legs well to hold off defenders. It's kind of fun to watch. Every once in while you think she's going into a bad situation and she always comes out ok. It's more her understanding of what she can do physically, how to get defenders where she wants them to be, and then to be able to cut back."

Nadeau is one of four seniors who have played all four years. The group has gone a combined 52-18-6, including three straight trips to the Division 3 North final. After three years playing outside mid, Nadeau has moved to forward and she's clearly happy there. "I like it a lot better. I like being up front," she said.

When the season eventually ends she'll change her shoes and move indoors. In the winter she runs track, and may be better in that sport than soccer. The results speak for themselves. Last winter she was fourth in the long jump at the All-State meet at 17 feet, 8.5 inches. She followed that up in the outdoor season by winning the triple jump at the Division 4 meet and was third in the long jump. At the All-State meet she was fifth in the triple jump. All that from someone who didn't run track until her freshman year.

"I kind of did it in spring, because everyone else was doing it, just to stay in shape. I ended up liking it a lot so then I started doing winter and spring."

As for jumping ...

"I just kind of tried it and it worked out I guess. The coach was, 'ya, that looks like your event.' "

The MIAA soccer pairings come out Nov. 1, and Nadeau hopes it will be a busy month. In addition for what she hopes is a long run back to Manning Field, she'll be applying to college as well. It's early October and Colby is at the top of her list. "Wherever I go I'm probably going to end up doing both track and soccer." That's her goal at least. And she rarely lets them change.