Although the playing part of their season recently has ended, girls’ the varsity soccer team is already beginning its planning for next season.

“There hasn’t been any formal discussion,” sophomore Allison Gunnel said. “There’s been rumours … but nothing has been confirmed yet.”

The team currently has 22 players, 11 of whom are seniors who will be graduating next month.

“A lot of our seniors have been here since seventh grade,” Gunnel said. “They’ve been staples to the team for all these years. We’ll have to adjust to the lack of them and to the new players who will move up.”

Sophomore Stefania Raffaelli said the new players will have big shoes to fill.

“Half of our team is leaving including major leaders and role players,” she said. “The juniors are going to have to step up and take control early on.”

Senior Reagan Russo said one of the key positions that will need to be filled is goalkeeper.

“Right now we have an amazing  keeper in Lauren Mannix who saved us many times throughout the season,” she said. “I think they’re really going to need the JV keeper to step up and play well next year.”

Russo and Rafaelli agree that next year’s players will have a lot to get used to.

“They just need to be confident in their play,” Russo said. “It’s going to be a big shock for all of them and if they don’t work as hard as they can then it’ll be noticeable on the field.”

“The whole team that’s here is going to have to be really welcoming to them,” Rafaelli said. “Right now we have a tight- knit bond so one of the first things we’ll have to do is build that bond back up.”

Gunnel said even though the step up might be an initial shock, she thinks the new team members will adjust.

“I played JV with a bunch of the girls who will be moving up and they all have a mentality to get better,” she said. “The dynamics already there, we just need to get them accustomed to the new playing style.”

Russo said the new players really just need to trust themselves.

“Even though it’s going to be at a faster pace than they’re used to, they should do well,” she said. “Once they get comfortable on the field and with the team, they should be able to play confidently in game.”

By Christian Thein