Every year, playing the Washington International School (WIS) Red Devils is a game the CESJDS girls varsity soccer team knows will be their toughest test of the season. These types of games, as JDS Lions head coach Paul Simonetti repeatedly told his team, can make them much better, as playing against great players is how one improves.
The game, which was at home on Oct. 9, started off fairly even with no one scoring, but once WIS scored its first goal, the Red Devils gained momentum. For most of the game, WIS controlled the tempo and maintained possession of the ball, scoring four goals in the first half and adding two more in the second half. The Lions ultimately lost to WIS 6-0, dropping their league record to 5-3.
While the score of the game was not close, Simonetti believes that is not what players should take away from the game. Simonetti saw things he liked from his team, even in a blowout loss.
“You’re going against someone who’s very, very good and very, very experienced; [try] to not worry about what the scoreboard says,” Simonetti said.
The Lions offense was unable to generate any goals, but their best chance during the game came late in the first half. A WIS defender was called for a handball in the box, giving the Lions a penalty kick, and chance to get on the board. Junior Sammi Krantz was elected to take the penalty kick. WIS’s goalie made a diving save on Krantz, keeping the Lions off the board.
Freshman Selma Teichman started in goal for the Lions, but later switched to defense in the second half. Despite giving up four goals, Teichman was able to keep the Lions in the game for most of the first half, making many saves.
“I like playing goalie, but I prefer not to play the whole game because I also like to be out on the field with more action,” Teichman said. “You can learn from them [WIS]; defending people that are a lot better than you makes you better.”
The Lions goalies and defense were able to contain some of the offensive plays made by the other team. The two JDS goalies made many saves, as the ball was constantly in their end. Additionally, captain and senior Gigi Gordon, an experienced defender on the team, was out due to an injury.
Along with Teichman, senior Josie Silverberg filled both the goalie and defensive spots in one game. Silverberg stepped in at defense in the first half, and was in net in the second half for her second time ever playing goalie. She only let up two goals, making a lot of saves for the Lions.
“You’re the only one who gets to see the entire field and I’m relatively new to soccer, so [playing goalie] was different, but I’m learning as I go along and it’s a fun position to play,” Silverberg said.
This game was a good preparation step for the upcoming Potomac Valley Athletic Conference (PVAC) playoffs later in October, and despite the loss, the team was able to learn from how they played.
“It takes time to get people comfortable in their positions,” Simonetti said. “The game really showed me things we’ve got to work on in our last practices as we get ready for our last game and the playoffs.”
