Rye Neck Superstar Ready to Fight for Harvard Goalie Spot

Win, lose, or draw, there has been one sure thing about the Rye Neck girls' soccer team for the last five years; one certainty, one thing you could absolutely count on every single game.

That one thing was Jessica Wright at goalie, and Rye Neck opponents would have to earn in the toughest way every single goal they scored.

This past fall, Wright wrapped up a truly incredible career at Rye Neck, one that saw her start every game for the Panthers since her debut with the varsity team in 8^th grade. Despite being the youngest player on the team that year, Wright quickly established herself as a leader on and off the field, something she says she couldn't have done without the guidance and encouragement of her head coach Doug Choron.

 "My coach was always pushing me to be one of the leaders on the team," Wright said. "Coming into 8^th grade I was really young and I didn't want to yell at the seniors from the back, but he was always there telling me to not be nervous and just be myself and take control. That was a big confidence builder."

On the field, Wright was nothing short of spectacular throughout her five-year career, improving every single season as the Panthers' defensive anchor, and leading Rye Neck to multiple winning seasons. As a freshman, Wright gave up 20 goals as Rye Neck posted a record of 13-5-1. Her sophomore year, Wright reduced that number to 14 as the Panthers finished the year 15-3-1. The following year, as a junior, Wright led Rye Neck to a stellar 15-1-1 record, giving up a minuscule eight goals all season.

This season, after Rye Neck lost seven key players to graduation, Wright had perhaps the best season of her career, despite the fact that the Panthers posted a record of 7-9-1 and gave up 25 goals. More than ever before, Wright was relied upon to keep her team in games, even when that meant facing wave after wave of attacks with no guarantee of a Panther goal in return.

In a game in mid-October, Rye Neck faced off against area powerhouse Briarcliff, a team Choron described as one of the best he's ever seen. Briarcliff, who went on to finish the year 20-1-1, won the game 2-0. Wright had 25 saves. Briarcliff's goalie Kelly Wall had four.

"She never complained," Choron said. "There were games where we didn't get over midfield more than two or three times. We pulled a lot of upsets where the other team would out-shoot us 30 to 2 and we would win 1-0. You can't play that style without a great goalie."

Realizing Wright's talent early on, Choron spent the last five years developing her into not only a better goalkeeper, but also a better overall soccer player.

"I tried to make her train at an advanced all-star travel-team level," Choron said. "At the same time, I know that if I had trained her hard as a goalie I would have burned her out. My number one priority was to make it fun for her."

Choron's second priority was to develop Wright's foot skills, something he accomplished by having her regularly practice as a position player instead of only a goalkeeper.

"I got the chance to help out on the field and challenge the other players," Wright said. "That was just fun."

Whenever Rye Neck had big leads in games, Choron even let Wright play a little bit of striker. Mostly though, Choron relished his time with who he knew was not only a special player, but a special person.

"She's probably one of the nicest, most intelligent, and one of the players with the most potential that I've coached in all my seasons," Choron said. "She's a legitimate Division 1 player and a brilliant person. The work ethic and the type of person she is I think honestly comes from her parents. They've always been a classy family."

With Rye Neck in her rear view mirror, Wright now faces with what will surely be a future full of new challenges and accomplishments. Wright will attend Harvard University in the fall, where she will play soccer and compete for the starting goalie position. She brings along with her a ton of memories, confidence and varsity experience, as well as a troop of brand new Harvard soccer fans.

"Through the years everyone has been so nice," said Wright about her time at Rye Neck. "There was always someone there to help you out if you needed something. The whole high school was very community-based, like a big family. No one was ever left out of anything."

Wright will play with the Westchester Flames of the United Soccer League this summer, before setting her eyes on her first goal of many in the next stage of her athletic career.

"I'm going to work hard because that's what I want," said Wright about the starting goalie position at Harvard. "I'm definitely going to fight for that spot."

It's safe to say no one at Rye Neck expected anything different.