GIRLS SOCCER

Dear Girls Soccer Candidates:

         I am very excited about the upcoming soccer season at St. Anthony’s High School.  Each year prospective soccer candidates have the opportunity to build upon the history and success of the St. Anthony’s High School soccer program.   Over the years, our program has featured many of the best soccer players on Long Island and regularly compete for championships.  More importantly, our program demands and exudes exemplary character, leadership and citizenship from all members. 

         In order to give you the best opportunity for selection and membership to the St. Anthony’s High School soccer program, I recommend and highlight the following information:

• FITNESS STANDARD:  

Competing at the highest level of players requires peak physical fitness capabilities.  Each player should commence a formal physical fitness routine.  All players will be tested for minimum standards including the 1.5 mile run, 120 yard shuttle test and 300 yard shuttle test.

• TRYOUTS INFORMATION:  

Be prepared,  Be physical and mentally ready.  Be committed to the school program.  Be respectful of the school history and reputation and all the players who preceded you.  If you are not present for these tryouts, you may not be eligible to participate on a St. Anthony’s High School soccer team. 

WEAR WHITE SHIRT (with your last name clearly printed on the back).  

Please bring a properly inflated soccer ball, shin guards, soccer shoes, running shoes and water.  
 

• GIRLS SOCCER TRYOUT AS FOLLOWS

@Cy Donnelly Field

Girls Varsity Soccer              

August 23 and 24    10:00-11:30am

August 25 12:00-1:30pm

Girls Junior Varsity Soccer 

August 23    11:30-1:00pm

August 24 12:00-1:30pm

August 25 1:30-3:00pm

Girls Freshmen Soccer

August 23    11:30-1:00pm

August 24 12:00-1:30pm

August 25 1:30-3:00pm

Varsity Head Coach SUE ALBER

For more detailed information I can be reached at sabler@stanthonyshs.org  

Returning for the 2020-2021 season, the varsity girls soccer team have been literally unbeatable. These Friars have gone undefeated in the season, including two wins by at least five goals. After starting the season on a hard fought 3-2 home win against Sacred Heart, the Friars caught fire and never let up. The girls won their next 8 games and only conceded 2 goals, with 6 clean sheets. To end off this unbeaten season, the Friars picked up their fourth straight league title and will open the 2021 fall season with a 15 game win streak.  

This team has constantly been referred to as ‘balanced’; after reading some articles on the team and watching game film, I agree! But, when you look at their level of play you realize it’s still an understatement. An elite offense and lights out defense, which is put on display every game. The best example of this was their 8-1 win over St. John’s, where 7 different players found netting and the team conceded only one. The team was led by a magical performance from Junior midfielder Emily Riggins and two goals from Olivia Perez, who have proven themselves as leaders on the team alongside Senior captain Chiara Greco.

This team has put an unprecedented amount of will and determination into this season, and many seniors are trying their hardest to get the best out of their last year on varsity. Greco gave her input on the shortened season, “This season is much shorter than past years, which forced us to come up with a game plan and style of play as soon as we were allowed on the field.” This was one of many handicaps given to teams across the league, including no spectators and mask protocols. Riggins gave a different perspective on the shorter season saying, “We are very grateful to even have the chance to play high school soccer.”  

With all the new aspects for 2020-21 I asked a few seniors some questions about the season…

Samantha Bosch – Goalkeeper, Senior: 
Q: How long have you been on varsity and when you’re done as a Friar, do you plan to play soccer on the college level?
A: This is going to be my second year on the varsity team. After my senior year, I am thinking about playing soccer at the collegiate level.

Q: Has your nerve increased since you made varsity for the first time? 
A: Making it to the varsity did increase my self-confidence, because it is a big privilege to be able to be a part of an amazing team with a great group of girls. Because of my very strong backline, I feel more self-confident. 

Q: How nerve racking is it between the sticks with such a strong team defending the net?\
A: Because of the strong backline, I feel more self-assured than nervous whenever I’m in the net, even though the nerves do come and go.

Emily Riggins – Forward, Junior:
Q: How long have you been on varsity, and how long have been doing SA soccer?
A: This is my second year on varsity I made the team my sophomore year and I have been playing with the Friars since I was freshmen and started on JVA.

Q: Besides the mask protocols, also an obstacle, what makes this season that much different from any other?
A: It is a much shorter season, with only a couple league games and playoffs and no states, it is definitely different than we’re used to, but we are very grateful to even have the opportunity to play high school soccer. 

Q: Being part of such a strong team, do you feel pressure to win?
A: As a team we of course, have very high expectations of ourselves so we are constantly striving to win and at least for me I don’t feel the pressure because we play how we play and we play OUR game and I think that alone speaks for itself. 

Q: If you have an opportunity to be part of the team next year, what tradition will you hope to continue?
A: As a team we have so many traditions that have been going on every year including the candy lane run, pasta parties the night before every game, karaoke, dying our hair pink for finals, and so many more.  I think most of all we want to keep the streak going next year and get a 5-peat.

Chiara Greco – Midfielder, Senior Captain;
Q: How long have you been on varsity, and how long have been doing SA soccer?
A: This is my second year on varsity.  I played on the freshman team, but I was only the manager of JV my sophomore year because my club team did not permit us to play for the school.  Then made varsity as a junior. 

Q: As the solo captain of such a strong and balanced team, it really shows your mental strength and commitment and it could be assumed that some of your teammates look to you for inspiration. So who do you turn to for inspiration?
A: For inspiration, I turn to our coach, Sue Alber.  Aside from leading us to so many championships, I think that I can speak on the team’s behalf that she has helped each of us grow as individual players, including players who already graduated.  She stresses working together and creating a close knit team that will work until the final whistle of every game.  Being on the team as a junior and seeing how our previous captains led the team is another big inspiration because it has set a standard for what I believe I must live up to. 

Q:  Since you’ll be graduating this year and probably playing college soccer, where do you want to play next year when you take your game to the next level?
A: I would love to play soccer in college next year and am definitely keeping my options open, but I’m not committed as of now and am still seeing if things fall into place.

By: Eamon Bevan is a freshman at St. Anthony’s High School in his first year writing for Friar Scoreboard. He was a member of the JVB Soccer team and is involved in several clubs including Franciscan Youth Ministry.

By Owen O'Brien Newsday

Call Eva LaVecchia’s championship-winning goal a happy accident.

When the junior defender on the St. Anthony’s girls soccer team sent a ball 35 yards toward the net, she wasn’t necessarily thinking "goal" in the back of her mind. But she’ll take the result.

"I was going for the cross, but it just went into the goal," LaVecchia said. "[I was] very surprised. I don’t usually score, I’m a defender but there, I was just in shock, honestly."

LaVecchia perfectly placed the ball in the upper-left corner of the net with 28:11 remaining in the opening half for the game’s lone goal in host St. Anthony’s 1-0 victory over Sacred Heart in the girls soccer CHSAA ‘AA’ championship Saturday morning.

photos by Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

"That was actually crazy," LaVecchia said. "I did not expect that to happen."

And crazy may be the perfect word to describe this fall season for the CHSAA. When players and coaches took the field for their first team activity September 21, everyone involved idealized crowing a champion mid-November without interference from COVID-19. And that's what happened.

"All my other friends in public school, they are so jealous because I’m out here playing and they don’t have a season, so I just thought it was so good," LaVecchia said. "As soon as we found out we had a season, it was just the best news ever."

The Friars capped off their 9-0 season with their fourth-straight league title. Without the opportunity to compete for a fourth-straight state title as well, players and coaches focused on what they could control and accomplish.

"We knew we wanted to get to this point, so we had to take all precautions possible, so we were very happy we got here," midfielder Emily Riggins said "It was different, but we got through it."

"It’s been super hectic," midfielder Chiara Greco said. "We’ve had our ups and downs and it’s been hard at times. But just the fact that we got here and were able to do it, we couldn’t have asked for it to have gone any better."

Both teams played aggressive and generated scoring opportunities in a physical matchup Saturday. The St. Anthony’s backline of Milan Carey, Sonni Adams and LaVecchia along with Natalie DeMasi and Greco helped limit Sacred Heart’s clean looks. But goalkeeper Annabella Cole needed to make some key stops -- including a pivotal save with 28 minutes left in the contest from a near point-blank shot. Kate Boyle had 12 saves to contain the St. Anthony’s attack for Sacred Heart (5-4-1).

"I honestly didn’t know what to feel in the moment because I knew Sacred Heart was going to bring their ‘A’ game," said Cole, who had seven saves. "I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game."

And after months of uncertainty about the ability to start a season and a few weeks of holding onto hope it would be completed, all participants were just relieved to crown a champion.

"I’m happy for all the girls in the Catholic league to be able to play their season," coach Sue Alber said. "And extremely happy for our seniors to go out like this and our whole team to win it again, so it’s a successful year all year around."

St. Anthony’s had contributions from its entire roster this fall. Along with physical injuries, positives within schools forced players to quarantine and the unknowns were often difficult to manage.

"Honestly, it was very hard this season just to get to this point, especially with COVID," Cole said. "We didn’t know when our season could just end, especially playing [the semifinals] with 15 people. It was really hard for us because we didn’t know what to expect."

But in the end, the Friars ended as they wanted. Champions.

"It’s a great outlet," coach Sue Alber said. "Everyone had that tough March, April, May, you had nothing going on in your lives, you didn’t know what was going to happen, so to have this outlet for these kids to be able to come every day and play and compete and play for the league title on a gorgeous day, it’s just amazing. It’s a great feeling."

"No matter how talented you are and how good you are, it’s always hard to do it four years in a row," Alber said. "And go undefeated, so I’m proud of the group, proud of the girls and this year, it showed we had a lot of depth. Every single player stepped up this year."

By Laura Amato  Newsday 

The Friars came out firing on Wednesday afternoon.

With four players finding the back of the net in the first half and seven getting goals overall, the St. Anthony’s girls soccer team scored early and often en route to an 8-1 victory over St. John the Baptist in a CHSAA matchup.

"We always want to come out with a bang," said junior midfielder Emily Riggins, who finished with a goal and two assists. "We try to start out strong so that it’s not a down-to-the-wire game because those are always very stressful."

Riggins opened the scoring for the Friars nearly eight minutes into the game, taking a pass from Silvana Bartolotta and toeing the offsides line. The early goal set the tone for St. Anthony’s (4-0) and, less than six minutes later, Ava Nielsen padded the lead, scoring off an assist from Riggins.

Credit: Bob Sorensen

Buoyed by the cushion, St. Anthony’s brought pressure throughout the first half, controlling tempo and moving the ball quickly.

"We have a lot of technical players here, and that’s key for me when you’re playing at St. Anthony’s," coach Sue Alber said. "I want to keep the ball, I want to keep possession and get it around other teams, whether it’s through the width or down the middle."

The strong possession allowed the Friars to cash in on a handful of first-half opportunities, including a corner kick with 23:06 remaining that set up Olivia Perez’s first of two goals. Ashley Kozlowski rounded out the scoring with 4:27 left in the half, giving St. Anthony’s a 4-0 lead heading into the break.

"We’re very confident," said Perez, who also added an assist in the win. "It’s not just relying on one person, with us anyone can score. It’s amazing how everyone can finish the ball."

St. Anthony’s didn’t slow down in the second half.

Samantha D’Angelo made it 5-0 with 35:21 left, and although Amanda Watson got St. John the Baptist (0-2-1) on the board nearly four minutes later, the Friars continued to push down the stretch.

Perez notched her second goal with just under 30 minutes remaining, on an assist from Nielsen, and Daniela Monzon and Tess Jablonowski wrapped up the offensive outburst.

"It shows the kind of depth we have on this team," Alber said. "It’s nice to see everyone get a chance to play and get on the score sheet."

Now, the Friars turn their attention to Saturday’s game against Kellenberg, as they look to stay undefeated in a rematch of last year’s league championship.

"We want to play our game," Riggins said. "We want to keep the momentum that we have and keep going."

With protections in place, St. Anthony athletes return to the field Varsity soccer players Amanda Giraldo, left, and Emily Riggins of St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington, wear face coverings as they battle for the ball during a team practice Sept. 21, 2020. The workout occurred on the first day high school sports were permitted to resume in New York state. Below, Jenn Roveto, assistant coach, sprays disinfectant on soccer balls following practice. (CNS photos/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Monday  Cy Donnelly
Varsity - 4:45 - 6:00pm - Tryouts
JVA - 3:15 - 4:30pm - Tryouts
JVB - 3:15 - 4:30 - Clinic

Tuesday  Cy Donnelly
Varsity - 4:45 - 6:00pm - Tryouts
JVA - 3:15 - 4:30pm - Tryouts
JVB - 3:15- 4:30pm - Tryouts

Wednesday Metzger 
Varsity - OFF
JVA - OFF
JVB - 3:15- 4:30pm - Tryouts

Thursday  (Practice) Cy Donnelly
Varsity - 4:45 - 6:00pm
JVA - 3:15 - 4:30pm
JVB - 3:15 - 4:30pm 

Friday (practice) Metzger
Varsity - 4:45 - 6:00pm
JVA  & JVB - OFF 

Saturday ALL LEVELS OFF

GIRLS SOCCER

Contact Sue Alber - salber@stanthonyshs.org

Monday Metzger
Varsity 4:45 - 6:00pm
JVA 3:15 - 4:30pm
Freshmen OFF

Tuesday Cy Donnelly
Varsity - 4:45 - 6:00pm
JVA - 3:15 - 4:30pm
Freshmen OFF

Wednesday Metzger
Varsity 4:45 - 6:00pm
JVA 3:15 - 4:30pm
Freshmen OFF

Thursday Cy Donnelly
*Varsity - 5:00pm - 6:15pm
JVA OFF
Freshmen OFF

Friday All teams OFF

Saturday Cy Donnelly
Varsity - OFF
JVA 9:30-10:45AM Tryout
Freshmen 10:45 - Noon Clinic