Vipers' soccer season kicks off
[attach]5739[/attach]Vaughan Road Academy’s girls soccer team is hungry to make it back to the West Region finals.
The Vipers narrowly lost to Lakeshore Collegiate in the West’s Tier 2 finals last season after the game came down to a shootout.
Despite last season’s loss, co-coaches Misty Russell and Lia Paterakis said they’re hoping some extra pre-season practice time may be enough to take them back.
“Last year … we started a week and a half before our first game,” Russell said after a practice. “This year, we’ve started a month and a half before our first game so we’re really hoping that we make it to the finals and come out with a win.”
Russell said the early preparation is already showing signs of paying off.
“I already see the chemistry building,” she said. “Last year the chemistry was great at the end but it took us a while.”
This season the Vipers will be led by co-captains Alyssa Chiao and Suhama Abukar, both of whom are strikers.
“I would say our biggest strength would be our shots,” Russell said. “Our strikers are very, very strong.”
Even during the practice the two captains showed their skills. Chiao and Abukar took charge of their respective scrimmage squads, nearly matching each other goal for goal. While running the team through drills, the coaches encouraged their players to talk to each other to ensure they maintain proper spacing and stay in formation.
“I think one of our strengths right now is communication, communication on and off the field,” Russell said. “We’re a very small school. Everyone knows each other on the team.”
The players also know what’s expected of them. Not only have the Vipers starting practicing early in the season, they practise early in the morning. Preaching discipline and accountability, the coaches have made it clear that if players don’t get out of bed for 7 a.m. practices they won’t get off the bench.
“I said if you don’t show up to practice and you’re the best on the team you better believe you’re not getting on that field,” Russell said.
Still, Russell said in addition to winning, the focus of this season will be enjoying the game.
“We’ve done our final cut and I’m hoping everyone gets equal playing time, they have a good time, we play as a team and we go in it together,” she said.