Hall Girls Regroup after Underachieving Last Year

The talent level on the girls soccer team last year was considerable.

On the surface, the Warriors could have mounted a challenge for the CCC West championship and gone deep in the Class LL tournament. What occurs beneath the surface stays within the family but can undermine a team.

But that was last year and with 2011 emerges a team perhaps less talented and certainly younger, but more unified and geared up to impact the division standings.

“We underperformed during the regular season. We had real chemistry issues,” Hall coach Scott Ferguson said. “It was a testament to the girls that we had a great tournament run.

“This year, the team has a different identity. We lost talent but we have talent returning. We have a team that will work harder because they saw that talent alone didn’t get us very far.”

After a 9-6-4 season, 6-4-4 in the CCC West, the 18th-seeded Warriors knocked off two higher seeds on the road (No. 15 Newtown and No. 2 Greenwich) before bowing to Westhill in a 1-0 quarterfinal match.

The Warriors began their 2011 season with a workmanlike 2-1 win at Tolland Tuesday with a new cast of players committed to team goals. At the heart of the team’s success is a refurbished midfield composed of co-captains Rebecca Scalise and Emily Wieczorek teamed with Claire O’Brien.

“We moved a couple of kids into positions that they didn’t play before,” Ferguson said. “They’re in the midfield because they’re so talented and that’s where we want our strength. It’s going to take a while [for them to gel] but once they figure it out, I’m optimistic we’ll have a good season and more.”

Outside forward Erin O’Brien, younger sister of midfielder Claire and Megan ('11) who is now playing at Fairfield University, wasted little time in netting her first varsity goal Tuesday. She’s teamed up front with tireless, athletic Hayley Mullins, who notched Hall’s second goal. Hanna Cho, a sophomore, completes a front devoid of seniors.

The Warriors also have a sophomore in goal, Madison Hooper.

Three-sport speedster Allyson Swaby centers the defense with veteran Kelsey Smith.

“Swaby is unbelievably fast,” Ferguson said. “She covers ground like [Emily Babcock] did for us last year. She’s filling the footsteps of an All-American.”

Rachel Brody and Megan Tracy are on the outside.

“We didn’t have our best game [Tuesday] but we went out and got a victory,” Ferguson said. “They scored a nice goal to make it 2-1 but we locked them down. It was close, and last year we lost a lot of close games. It’s the sign of a team that has a common goal.”

HALL

Coach: Scott Ferguson (7th year, 63-25-20)

Last Year: 9-6-4 (6-4-4 CCC West, 3rd); lost to Westhill in ‘LL’ quarterfinal

Key Losses: Megan O’Brien, Emily Babcock, Sara Binkhorst, Taylor Matzke

Players: Rebecca Scalise (sr. capt., MF), Emily Wieczorek (sr. capt., MF), Alexandra Joel (sr. capt. D), Hayley Mullins (jr. F), Kelsey Smith (sr. D), Samantha Brody (sr. MF), Rachel Cudo (sr. D), Rachel Brody (sr. D), Allyson Swaby (so. D), Megan Tracy (jr. D), Erin Williams (jr. GK), Alexandra Miller (jr. MF), Bianca Speranza (jr. MF), Claire O’Brien (jr. MF), Madison Hooper (so. GK), Erin O’Brien (fr. F), Katie Rogers (fr. D), Hanna Cho (so. F), Kelly McGann (so. D)

Of Note: Megan O’Brien, now a defender at Fairfield, had 31 career goals and 12 assists at Hall. Her sisters both play for the Warriors. Claire is a junior midfielder and Erin, a freshman, is getting varsity playing time …