Strong finish for Lady Indians

After an up and down start to the season on the girls’ soccer pitch, Sewanhaka got on a roll and put together a very respectable season. The Lady Indians lost just once in their last eight games and finished with an overall record of 6-3-4.

In the season finale, sophomore Jancarla Herrera scored a goal and added a pair of assists to lead Sewanhaka to a 4-0 victory over Roosevelt. The Lady Indians also got goals from junior Margie Londono, and seniors Shantel Oliver and Celestina Pipia. Win the win, Sewanhaka locked up a third place tie in Conference A-5 with Malverne/East Rockaway.

Head coach Eric Premisler said he was satisfied with the season. “There were a few games we could have won, so I would have liked a few more wins, but it was a very good season,” Premisler said. “The girls got better every time they took the field. As a coach, that’s really all you can ask for.”

The Lady Indians had difficulty finding the back of the net early in the season, but received exceptional netminding from Daniella Ford all year. The junior keeper, who earned All-Conference recognition, had 118 saves on the season, and registered five shutouts. Ford yielded a goal or fewer in all but one match in 2013. 

“I’ve been coaching Daniella since the eighth grade, and have been talking about her ability for years,” Premisler said. “She could play and excel in any conference in the county. She has outstanding fundamentals. She had another tremendous season for us.”

While Ford was stellar in goal, keeping the ball out of the net was a team effort. Pipia (All-Conference) and Londono (All-Classification) were shutdown defenders at sweeper and stopper, respectively.  

The fleet-footed Herrera, who also excels on the softball diamond, has only been playing soccer for the past two seasons. Her relative inexperience didn’t stop her from burying a team-leading eight goals. She scored both goals in a 2-1 win over Malverne/East Rockaway in September.

Senior Sabrina Spiridigliozzi returned from a serious knee injury in 2012 to have a solid season on the pitch for the Lady Indians. Spiridigliozzi finished the campaign with four goals and three assists. She had two-point games in wins over Lawrence and Westbury. Premisler also made mention of the strong contribution the team received from senior center-midfielder Jenny Pechacek.

With 12 underclassmen on the roster, including a pair of freshmen, Stephanie Karczewski and Madeline Deheny, the future looks pretty good for Premisler and the Lady Indians.

“Losing eight seniors is tough, but I think we’ll be ok,” Premisler said. “We have a bunch of players returning who have varsity experience, and some talent coming up from the junior varsity, so I’m looking forward to bringing them along. The goal is move up in conference play in the future. Hopefully, we’ll be able to start moving up one conference at a time.”