Hopatcong Girls Soccer: Young, Energetic

The girls soccer team at may be young—especially after graduating seven seniors—but there’s a lot of positive energy on the field. Sixth-year coach coach Hilary Gorzelnik believes the first half of the season will be an "eye opener" for her squad. She hopes by the second half the team will be grounded a little more, that they’ll know what to expect.

Click here for head shots of the 2011 Hopatcong Girls soccer team.

LAST SEASON

The Chiefs finished the season 6-12-1. They qualified for the state tournament but were eliminated in the first round by Glen Rock, 6-0. Even though they had 12 losses, they were always in the game, losing many by one or two goals.

LOOK OUT FOR

Stephanie Van Beke, Goalie (Sr.) – Van Beke, ever the team player, gave up her position as outside-mid when the Chiefs were without a goalie at the start of last season. A team leader, she is without a doubt the most athletic player on the field.

Barbara Ortiz, Forward (Fr.) – Ortiz is a very coachable athlete with an enormous amount of speed and talent.

WHO'S GONE

Kristen Toropiw – A three-sport athlete who could play any position on the field, Toropiw is now playing soccer at Felician College.

Carly Wolff – Wolff was such a consistently solid player that according to Coach Gorzelnick, she never had a bad game. Wolff is playing soccer at County College of Morris.

COACH'S TAKE

“The chemistry of this team is more positive this year. The dynamics are different in that I have 11 leaders on the field, not just one.” — Coach Gorzelnick

THEY SAID IT

“I think it will be a good season. We work together and talk to each other on the field. To be successful we need to play good defense. And we need to be intense.”  — Van Beke

“I’m hoping for a good season. We’re more of a new team with lots of freshmen. I’m hoping we see some good stuff from the freshmen because they have lots of potential. I’m hoping for lots of wins this season.” — Niki Kaminski