Foxes & Quakers Kick Off Girls Soccer Seasons

FOX LANE

The Foxes come off a season where they qualified for the Section 1 Class AA tournament, losing a hard fought 1-0 game to Ossining in the opening round.

Fox Lane was looking to get off to a good start to this season and did just that in its opener as it defeated visiting Croton-Harmon 1-0 Sept. 7.

“It was a really positive note for us,” Fox Lane senior co-captain and defender Jackie Ingraldi said. “We really hope that we continue to win.”

Ingraldi said that the key to the win was working on communication and keeping possession of the ball. Putting the Foxes up in the first half was a goal by junior midfielder/forward Sydney Reichert.

“Sydney is definetly a very key player,” Ingraldi said. “She definitely helps us offensively. She is really good at shooting and she helps us move the ball forward.”

Reichert’s goal gave the Foxes a confidence boost that helped enable them to win the game.

“It felt really good to win the first game,” Ingraldi said. “Once she scored we were like ‘We can do this.’”

Besides getting a clutch goal from Reichert, what also helped the Foxes secure the win was a great effort by their defense, backboned by the goalie play of junior co-captain Kate Burbank, who registered six saves in recording the shutout.

“Kate definitely talks up the defense, she knows how to take control out there,” Ingraldi said. “She knows what she is doing.”

So does senior co-captain and midfielder Sam Ricker.

“Sam is great in the middle,” Ingraldi said. “She definitely helps us in the back. She is definitely capable of stopping the other team.”

Ingraldi, Burbank and Ricker play an important role as co-captains and it’s a role they don’t take lightly.

“We make sure that when we warm up the team is doing what they are supposed to be doing,” Ingraldi said. “We help to foster team bonding and get everybody to work together.”

Ingraldi also gets to work with her sister, junior defender Christina Ingraldi.

“We are both in the back together and we talk a lot,” Jackie Ingraldi said. “We both have each other’s back.”

Having the back of the offense is senior forward Cate Belhumeur

“She is a very key player on offense and helps us move the ball forward,” Jackie Ingraldi said.

GREELEY

Greeley enjoyed a solid campaign last fall, where it registered an 11-6-1 mark and earned a berth in the Section 1 Class AA tournament, where it lost to rival John Jay 2-0 in the opening round.

Greeley looks to return to the sectionals this season and got headed towards that with a 3-0 opening-day win on Sept. 9 against visiting Ossining.

Leading the Quakers to the victory offensively was two goals by sophomore forward Melissa Ardizone.

“Melissa displays really good ball-control and knows how to finish,” Greeley coach Erin Tracy said.

The Quakers team leader is senior midfielder Issy Berkey.

“She is quick, she’s got good ball skills,” Tracy said. “She makes good decisions on the field. She’s our leader.”

Bringing quickness to the defensive side of the ball is senior stopper-back Katie Mak.

“Katie plays very poised and controlled,” Tracy said. “She can shutdown offensive players. She knows where to be on the field.”

Junior center-midfielder Olivia Kerester provides the Quakers with someone who delivers the ball with good pace and accuracy.

Sophomore defensive back Amanda Becker is tough, good in the air and leads the ball very well according to Tracy.

“They play really well together,” Tracy said. “They are able to pass the ball and move the ball. They tend to know where each other are going to be.”

As for preventing the opposition to score, sophomore Hannah Dun did just that by making seven saves against the Pride.

As for the team as a whole, Tracy just wants to see game-to-game progress.

“We are a relatively young team so my expectations for the season are to do really well, learn a lot and to grow each game,” Tracy said.

Greeley won at Fox Lane 1-0 on Wednesday to improve to 2-1 after losing at Scarsdale on Monday 6-1.

Sadie Rutman recorded her first varsity goal for the game winner against the Foxes.

The loss to Greeley left Fox Lane at 1-1-1 as it also tied at Briarcliff 2-2 on Monday.