Panthers look to repeat as league champs

Fast starts haven’t always been the case for the team in recent years.

“I think it’s put everyone in a great mindset that we really want to continue that streak and be league champs like we were last year,” Ellenberg said. “Doing well makes us more competitive. We want that win 10 times more. We want to get the ball more. We want to run faster. We care a lot more now that we know it’s a possibility. A few years ago our team was not as great as we are today, which is really nice to see.”

Senior Caroline Fleischhauer credits the main thing the team has been building: “Trust.”

“I think last year there was a lack of it,” Fleischhauer said. “We didn’t always trust each other to catch the ball. We didn’t always trust each other to get the ground ball. This year I see a lot of passing, I see a lot of communication, I see a lot of people taking the blame. I think that’s very important because you need to understand your mistakes in order to build. In the moment it’s definitely difficult because you can be upset about a mistake when it happens, but I think you have to take a deep breath and come out with some constructive criticism because it’s a mistake and they did not mean to make it.”

In addition, building a strong foundation for communication has also been key. “It’s been a lot of team bonding, a lot of bagel breakfasts at someone’s house,” Fleischhauer said. “We show up early, stick around after to pass the ball around. We go in a circle and Maddy [Frain] leads it and she has a question of the day. It can about your favorite breakfast or your dream vacation.”

The Panthers have used trust and communication to rebuild the defense this spring by again using a mix of veterans from other positions and newcomers to protect second-year goalie Maddy Frain, a senior. Sophomore Bella Scovotti, sophomore Eliza Press, junior Iliana Dimopoulous, senior Gabby O’Reilly, sophomore Isa Mello, Fleischhauer and some of the newcomers have been standing their ground.

“We’re still testing things out because it’s early in the season and we want to see what style of defense works best for our team,” coach Jen Wandle said. “But it is great we do have girls willing to jump into new positions so we can kind of get a feel for what’s best for them and what works best. They adapted so fast, so it was great to see. It’s like they’ve played there the entire time. The transition was seamless for them, which was great because it was like we didn’t skip a beat.”

With senior Lela Warnock on attack and O’Reilly, Dimopoulos and Mello at midfield, everyone has been connecting and moving up and down the field to pitch in depending on the situation.

“Offensively they’ve been doing a nice job,” Wandle said. “Having so many new faces and new positions they’ve made the transition really well. They find the openings, they know when is a good time to go, when is a good time to pull things out, so that’s been working well for us.”

Last year three practice prior to the team’s first game the goalie got injured and when no one stepped up to take over, Frain volunteered. She earned All-League honors, had fun and found she “could add more in the goal than playing the field.” She was a fast midfielder, but didn’t have the stick skills to contribute in the way she wanted.

“We had some very strong defenders last year, which made it more comforting, so I’m getting used to a new group this year and I’m really ready,” Frain said. “We’ve just got to work on communication and really trying to not get calls for shooting space that will lead to the other team getting that free shot. We have to mark up, especially when we’re a man down. That happens a lot.”

Frain learned early last year that letting up a goal or two wasn’t the end of the world and that she had to keep her head in the game no matter what the situation.

“I also realized the importance of clearing and how I’ve got to use that to my advantage because I can throw it pretty far,” she said. “That’s been clutch.”

Wandle is thrilled having Frain back as a veteran in goal this year.

“It was nice to know we had someone to put into goal this year because last year it was a surprise,” Wandle said. “Having that consistency for us was really important, especially because our other goalie that would have been coming up was really young, so we wanted to give her time to adjust before playing at the upper level. I’m sure it wasn’t Maddy’s ideal position that she wanted, but she jumped in and we can’t thank her enough for it.”

In a 17-0 win over Yonkers on April 11, Dimopoulos scored five goals, while Press, Mello and O’Reilly scored two goals each and Addy Kaplan, Scovotti, Kraus, Grace Lytton, Sonia Parashac and Olivia Geller one each. Kraus had three assists, Warnock two, Scovotti, Mello, Taylor Kenney, Ellenberg, Grace Lytton, Geller and O’Reilly one assist each.

Frain made three saves.

“After today we have a few more this week and then things will really pick up from there,” Wandle said. “The practice time and the downtime we’ve had was great for that extra time, but they’re ready to really get started.”

Edgemont will look to add to the league title banner that commemorates last year’s achievement and they’ll do it having kept number low in order to have a junior varsity team to keep building for future success.

“It was a tough decision we had to make, but it was definitely worth it because these younger girls that did join varsity this year have really stepped up to the plate,” I couldn’t have asked for better girls to join, so it’s exciting to see them get started.”

Frain gave a shoutout to the coaches for making being on the team a fun experience. “It’s going to be a great season and we have the best coaches ever,” she said.