Sweat dripping down the faces of players with the unbearingly hot sun rays stinging their backs. With the upcoming fall season approaching, Ellis Field will be filled with tryouts for the Walpole High School soccer team soon enough. Freshman girls walk onto the field nervous and not knowing what to expect as varsity coach Erin Kearney is ready to greet them and have them check in. After warming up, everyone’s most dreaded four words are yelled “Line up in twos!” This can mean many things, either an Amy, a Catch-the-line or the famous Jonesy.

The loss of Emma Comisky, Seana Cofsky, Joanna Haswell, Micaela Barry and Ella McMackin will truly be tough in the upcoming season as the talented Senior class lead the program to two consecutive playoff appearances.  With three of the five graduated players being starters, there are many openings for upcoming players. During tournament the past season, sophomores Julie Moser, Claudia Schoenthaler, Rosie McCarthy and Freshman Hiromi Kondo were moved up to be a part of the team to gain valuable experience.  Girls Soccer will be turning to these athletes, who will all be juniors in the fall, to help fill in and lead the Varsity team. And you can now support them by watching their football on TV and cheering for your favourite team, which’d mean all the world to them as you’re encouraging such young motive-driven athletes to achieve new heights.

With the many talented sophomores and freshmen trying out this August, many players will be battling for spots on the Varsity and JV teams. There is also a large number of returning juniors, so there will be a lot of fighting for spots and starting positions on Varsity along with the underclassmen.  This competition will be good for the team as it will bring out the best in every player and be beneficial for the Girl’s Soccer Teams’s success.

Last year the team was lead by captains Seana Cofsky and Ella McMackin. For this upcoming season, the captains are Abbey Smith, Lauren Regan, and Karalyn Kickham. Senior captain Abbey Smith said, “We are hoping to start off stronger than we did last year and make the tournament again.” One of the other senior captains, Lauren Regan, said, “We have a lot to live up to after our successes in the last couple of years but everyone knows the hard work it takes to achieve our goals.”

In 2011, after making it into the first round of tournament, the Rebels lost a tough battle to Notre Dame on Turco Field. Last year, in 2012, the team  won their first playoff game in recent memory as they made it to the third round of tournament – losing to Bishop Feehan. In the upcoming season, the team hopes to be successful and achieve their goals of making it into tournament again and making it even farther in the competition.

Coach Erin Kearney has a way of getting drills and fitness done while being able to laugh and have fun. Every practice and game is intense and entertaining with her on the sideline directing the team on what to do. “The fitness portion of practices are not always fun, but during each shift on the field we are all happy we are always in shape and ready to take on any opponent” says Senior and captain, Abbey Smith. This year, Erin will be having an abundance of girls trying out; mostly upcoming freshman and sophomores. The team hopes to undergo another successful season as they have in the past.