Mepham shows considerable growth

It’s been quite a rise for the Mepham girls’ soccer team.
After finishing the 2022 campaign without a victory, the Pirates have lost only once through last weekend’s games, en route to a 3-1-3 record, 2-1-3 in the AAA/AA2 conference.
Their success has been a combination of two things. Mepham moved down a conference, after many underclassmen got much needed experience to mature.
“We played the South Sides and Garden Citys,” coach Janine Bizelia said. “It was a challenge. We had a lot of sophomores who played a lot of minutes. Being young, it was a tough season but we have a lot of the same players back, a year older, and more comfortable playing with each other. We’re kind of getting a little bit more of a groove.”
The Pirates have been buttressed by a stellar defense that has limited opponents to only five goals in seven games. They have conceded two goals only once, in a 2-1 home loss to Calhoun on Sept. 20.

Junior goalkeeper Melanie Arcos has backstopped three shutouts. “She’s been tremendous,” Bizelia said. “She’s a very good leader in the goal. She denies many shots.”
In front of Arcos are four solid defenders - outside backs Addison Chiarello, a junior, and Kaitlyn Tansey, a sophomore, and center backs Camryn Volpe, a junior, and Ava Parisi, a sophomore.
“Kaitlyn is very strong for us. Sometimes we push her into the midfield, but she’s been the rock back there along with Camryn,” Bizelia said. “They just read things well and play for each other. They’re confident more going into this year, which is helping us keep goals out of our net.”
The lone senior on the squad is midfielder Ashley Felsberg, a varsity player since she was a freshman, who captains the Pirates along with Chiarello.
As good as the defense has been, the offense has struggled with eight goals in seven matches.
“We’ve had some games where we just can’t finish,” Bizelia said. “We’ve had a lot of opportunities and just can’t find the back of the net.”
Junior forward Ava West (2 goals) is the team’s leading scorer. “She’s a bull up there,” Bizelia said. “She’s just runs through people. She gets onto things.”
Junior Gabby Saraceni is the Pirates’ top midfielder. She scored in a 1-1 draw with visiting Plainview on Sept. 28.
Bizelia’s most memorable match wasn’t a win, but the loss to Calhoun. There was a good reason for that as the game was used as a fundraiser for Carsyn Volpe, the young brother of Camryn, who has cancer.
“It truly was a great event and day,” Bizelia said. “It was more than wins and losses that day. Unfortunately, we came out with a loss, but it was more than that. Coming together as a community, as a district, we helped raise money for him.”
Bizelia said that Camryn’s “outlet is playing and being with the team.”
“She’s been a great teammate, great leader,” she added. “We battle different things and she’s got that going on at home. She rises when asked to. It shows a lot of character on her part.”