Regardless of what happens in the final three games of the regular season, and whether or not the Valley Stream North girls soccer team makes a long-awaited return to the postseason, the season has been an unmitigated success, according to coach Dan Tronolone.
“The goal is to win the next three games, see where that puts us,” he said. “If we get in, we get in. If not, it was a successful season, and it’s definitely built a foundation and a stepping stone going into next year as these younger kids get older and develop more.”
While the stretch drive of the season, which has seen the Spartans go 4-1-1 in their last six matches, the start wasn’t quite as smooth. Valley Stream North opened with a 6-1 loss at Locust Valley and trailed Mineola 4-1 at halftime when Tronolone made a change that would alter the course of the season.
“The first game and a half we were playing with a flat back four on defense,” he said. “We switched to three fullbacks and a sweeper, and then we ended up losing 4-3, and ever since then, the defense has kind of been solidified.”
The Spartans have lost just twice since and have registered three shutouts.
Junior Khloe Genova-Ross came into the season as a midfielder, but Tronolone told her on the second day of tryouts she’d likely need to transition to the back line, joining senior Thierra Bastian, the lone returning starter, senior Kiara Soto and eighth grader Mariana Mungia.
“She was a little reluctant, but probably two or three games into playing sweeper, she’s kind of loved the position and she’s the backbone of the defense,” Tronolone said of Genova-Ross. “Without her, we’d be in a little bit of trouble, but she stepped up.”
They have played in front of sophomore Ava Papantoniou, who didn’t play soccer last season. The first-year goalkeeper has 77 saves on the season, 19 of them coming in that one-goal loss at Mineola on Sept. 3.
“It was at that point we realized I think we’re going to be all right in goal,” Tronolone said. “She’s helped us tremendously.”
Senior captains Daniella Morales and Paige Fessler, a pair of four-year starters, have set the tone for an attack that has scored 30 goals in 10 matches.
“Daniella is probably one of the toughest kids I’ve coached over the years, and she’s a speedster,” Tronolone said. “And then Paige, we started her at midfield, we moved her forward. Athlete-wise, she’s probably the best athlete on the field, no matter who we’re playing.”
Fessler, who is being recruited by Division I programs like South Carolina, Penn State, LSU, Virginia and Indiana for track, has four goals this season, while Morales has five goals and one assist.
Sophomores Leilani Martin-Santos and Gabby Giammarino are a pair of three-year varsity players who have also grown as leaders.
The team’s signature win of the season to date was its first — a 5-1 victory over district rival Valley Stream South, with Fessler leading the way with a pair of goals. The Spartans completed the season sweep on Sept. 30 following a 3-0 home win, with Giammarino netting a hat trick and Papantoniou making four saves for the shutout.
