Girls Soccer Season Recap

Record: 6-11 (5-8 in the league); [Junior Varsity finished 14-1-1]

Awards/Accomplishments/Milestones: Megan Giannoupolis - 1st Team All-PAC-10; and Sammy Stipa - 2nd Team All-PAC-10; Leanne Shaw - Honorable Mention All-PAC-10.

Graduating Seniors: , Shanna Hill, Micaela Lambeth, Nikki Lynch, Lisa Semetti, Maddie Ward.

Major Injuries: None.

Overall Impressions of the Season: "It was a fantastic first season for me, because we had a rough beginning with four losses, but I look at the records - once I got to know the girls and changed the whole system, we won four in a row," said head coach Sheldon Chamberlain. "From going 0-4 to 4-0, they listened and learned the system. I got to play the players who learned from the whole thing.

"In our first three games, we lost 2-1. In the Boyertown game, we lost 2-0. So, those are respectable scores. Then we lost to Perkiomen Valley 1-0. So, I said, 'Whoa, we've got to change something up.' So we changed the system. We went won four in a row. We bumped along and finished up with a couple of more wins and a couple of more losses. So, once I changed the system and the players, it was a great year. We ended up playing in the rain there against Abington at night and it was an awesome game. The only two games we were really out of it were Owen J. Roberts, 5-0 we lost, and Downingtown East, 4-0 we lost. If you know anything about the state playoffs for girls, Owen J. Roberts got into the later rounds of states. We played Owen J. Roberts the second game and we were so tough. We lost 2-1, but that was the night to beat them. They were not at the top of their game. We were playing really good soccer. We changed our system from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1. With that new system in place at that point, we went 6-5 to finish up the season. A little statistic here that I like: We outscored our opponents 37-31, and outshot our opponents 256-147. We just never capitalized on those shots and the corner kicks. That's all about a new coach, adjusting to a new system and bringing young players. It was a young team.

"The J.V. was awesome. I don't know if you talk about them much, but I think it's worth mentioning. A lot of them will be moving up to varsity and at 14-1-1, they were unbelievable. Their only loss came to Boyertown and the tie was against Boyertown, too. We beat Owen J. Roberts twice there, 1-0 and 4-0."

Story of the Year: "We played this 4-2-3-1, which is a defensive system, and we generated a lot of attack out of it, because there's three midfielders hanging back behind the one forward. Four of them go forward and try to score on the attacking third. It was kind of interesting watching that whole thing happen. We had the right fit - the players: Megan [Giannoupolis] was a front girl and we had Nikki [Lynch] on the left with speed and experience as a senior, and the center-mid we had [Sammy] Stipa, who by the way had the second highest goals scored with seven. Megan was number one with nine. And then we had Aley Kate McKinley on the right-mid. So, we had these two unbelievable holding mid-fielders in Jess Havrilla and Sarah Hancock - outstanding! That really helped us - five defenders. The other teams that played us a second time around were like, 'Whoa, what's going on here? Why are you guys so much better?' We had the right personnel in the right place, I think."

What Are Your Thoughts About Next Year? "The next two years are going to be very good. Next year, we'll have some of the ninth graders who were in the lineup. For a while, we had Jenna Griggs in goal, because Lisa Semetti had a concussion. So, she'll be back as a 10th grader - bigger, smarter, stronger, more soccer-savvy. She's playing a lot of soccer. The 10th graders, if you look at the starting lineup that are coming back, Leanne Shaw - she was in the central defense, Kaitlyn Dougherty in the central defense, Megan Giannoupolis is a top player who's back, Sarah [Hancock] is back, Alley Kate is back, Samantha Stipa is back. So that's five tenth graders that are starters that are coming back and our freshman. So that's six players and we have a junior coming back. Then there's people ready to jump in as well. We have some good freshmen that will step up, too. Can't forget about Haley Preschutti, who's a 10th grader that got injured. There could be eight starters back there. That's a good sign.

"I have them voluntarily working out now. We play futsal inside the gym right now, 4-v-4 or 3-v-3, and we're in a league. So, I'm stepping the program up for the high school. I think a lot of other high schools do this stuff, but I was told they didn't do it at for the last couple of years. I'm working on the girls and changing their mind and see if they want to come get involved in Spring-Ford girls soccer year-round. That's the goal. When they're not busy, get involved in some more soccer stuff. The Owen J's and Boyertowns do that stuff. So, next year, we'll have more wins than losses. Two years from now, if I'm around, that's the year. That's the year we're going to win it. That would be good. We need a hot shot goalkeeper. We need this goalkeeper that's going to step up.

"I'm used to girls who play soccer year-round in high school. I came from Florida and they don't do this other stuff. The reason we got to the final four in three years is because they're year-round soccer players. They don't do lacrosse and hockey and all that stuff. But, this is a different place up here. There are a lot more opportunities for the girls to do more things and they do it."

Seniors Next Year: 12.

Last Thoughts: "We're going to miss Nikki Lynch tremendously and her leadership. There's an outside back named Shanna Hill, too. With all of those years with experience, she was tough. We'll miss Maddie Ward on the right side. She was a top defender with a lot of experience. But, we've got these freshmen that are working hard at indoor soccer and on their club teams. We're going to be heard from. It will be fun!"