Ithaca soccer coach Paige Beracy talks about the season
=1.) How much of an impact do you feel no spring sports in 2020 could have on your 2021 season.
It impacted our team greatly. We lost a lot of experienced players and had some students change their minds about coming out for the team this season.
2.) Name some key athletes that have graduated from what would have been last season’s team and your remembrances on their contributions to the program.
Maiya Hessbrook, Megan Ahearn, and Kierra Henderson. All three were leaders as captains and top goal scorers/passers. They all received all-conference honors as well.
3.) Please mention several athletes who will be key performers…name, year in school, position. Your expectations from each of these athletes this season. (Feel free to attach a roster if one is available).
Senior midfielder Sydney Marcy and Freshman midfielder Emily Ahearn. Sydney and Emily are both great all around players that can play anywhere. I’m expecting them to provide leadership, goals, and assists.
4.) What expectations do you have of your team this season?
We are a very young and inexperienced team. I am expecting the girls to take things one day at a time and continue to get better each day.
5.) What will be your team’s strength?
Our team is composed of a lot of close friends so we are a very tight-knit group.
6.) What are some things this team needs to work on?
We have many things to work on but for us it’s just more about learning the game itself and getting more experience.
7.) Your conference: How strong is it and who would you consider the league favorites? Where do you see your team fitting into the league race?
Our conference is very diverse in terms of quality. I would consider Valley Lutheran and Saginaw Nouvel as the favorites. I see us ending the season near the bottom unfortunately.
8.) The late ending of the winter season, any impact on your spring sports season?
With most of our team playing basketball also we were without half our team for the first two weeks of the season.