After finishing last season with a 4-10-4 record, the Westwood High School girls' soccer team is new and improved and ready to win.
Despite the loss of 12 graduating seniors from last year's team, coach Tim Chant says he loves the senior leadership he has now. Captains Emily McGrail, Mary O'Sullivan and Alison Campion will lead not just a senior class, but a team Chant says is one of most athletic he's seen in several years.
"We have a lot more players this year who can not only run, but play as well,"
said Chant. "We've had many times where our top players weren't our greatest athletes and times where great athletes couldn't play as well, and this year it seems we have more players who can do both at the same time."
The team consists of seven sophomores whom Chant feels will compliment the senior leadership extremely well.
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Scoring is one thing he hopes these sophomores can provide. Finishing has been one of the ongoing issues for the Wolverines and it is an aspect that Chant is stressing. He feels his girls didn't step up at times last year and score as many goals as he had hoped.
"The defense was there, we just couldn't capitalize on some opportunities I would have liked to," said Chant.
Despite scoring only one goal in their first two preseason games, Chant doesn't believe it is a major weakness for his team.
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"We just haven't quite gotten there yet," Chant said. "I wouldn't call it a weakness, we're just not quite there yet, but it's coming."
Scoring will be a necessity if Westwood wants to achieve its ultimate goal of making the state tournament.
"We go in every year believing we can," Chant added. "If either our opponents or our own play proves us otherwise, then that's something we will find out, but our goal is to make both the sectional and state tournaments."
Westwood will have its final scrimmage of the preseason on either
Friday or Saturday afternoon at Wayland pending the track of Hurricane Earl.
The Wolverines will open the regular season on the road with games on Tuesday, September 7th at Bellingham, which is also the first day of school for Westwood,and will play at Holliston on Friday, September 10th.