EC Girls Soccer: 2020 Update
EC girls soccer has always been a big deal within the community. The packed community nights. The nail biters and the blow outs, the community has always loved to watch the girls take the field. With the 2020 season in full swing the team is facing another challenge. This season has been littered with changes and with so much up in the air the girls are still working hard to have an effective season.
This soccer season is going to be vastly different from past seasons but senior Nicole Foster and sophomore Sam Fernandez are optimistic that the season will still be very successful. Sam Plays defense and is excited to have more talented underclassman on the defensive side of the ball. When asked about the freshman, Sam told me “Our team is going to be really good this season with the addition of the new freshman.” Nicole Foster also is impressed with the incoming talent:¨It's always scary coming into a new season losing some important players and gaining new young ones. This year's freshman have a lot of skill and will definitely be a huge help to the team.¨
This soccer season has been shortened to 10 games(5 at home and 5 away) due to New Jersey's new 4 sport season schedule. The soccer season kicked off practice on September 14th and is planned to last around two months.
There has been no news on if fans will be able to attend games this is a big change. Sam felt strongly about this. “If we are not able to have fans I will probably be pretty disappointed. I really feed off the energy of the fans.” Nicole felt similarly, she told me that no fans ¨will definitely be different and hard to adjust to playing with no fans. In my own opinion having fans sometimes makes me push myself harder and not give up.¨ The possibility of no spectators has been a big disappointment for many athletes across the country.
It has also been debated whether or not it is necessary for athletes to wear masks while participating in their sports. Sam said “ I feel like masks could be really bad especially in a sport like soccer where you have to run a lot.” Sam is right , masks during sports can be harmful to breathing but also is the contact a risk? When asked, senior Nicole Foster about the same subject ,she said,`` It would definitely create some challenges, but I wouldn't mind wearing one if that's what it takes to have a season. It's safety first, we also have rules in place about social distancing and wearing masks if we are not on the field.¨ The rules that have been made for the soccer season are very important to having a full and safe season.
Nicole spoke about her expectations for this year, ¨I expect to see more teamwork/ bonding between the team. As it being my senior year, I would want to have a successful, winning season. We are a fairly young team and are still learning each other's skill level but through positive teamwork, I believe we can achieve a great season. This year we also have a new assistant coach, and we look forward to seeing what she brings to the team this season. ¨
