by Katie Forbes

The Lady Barron’s Varsity Soccer team had their best year in recent memory, going 12-7-3 under new head coach, Coach Joraskie.

This year’s team included seven freshman, all of whom impressed the upperclassmen. One of these girls, Gabby Demilio, had an especially great year, scoring 16 goals and grabbing 11 assists as a varsity forward.

Junior Justine Stefura, the team’s goalie, also had an impressive season with 157 saves. The team proudly had three girls receive GMC White Division Honors: Hadiza Mamman, Gaby Demilio, and Aimee Balint. Mamman was also awarded All GMC Honors.

In addition to these individual accomplishments, the Lady Barrons also advanced to the quarterfinals of the County Tournament and State Tournament under Coach Joraskie’s three main coaching objectives: communication, determination, and teamwork. Or as Stefura put it, “We gelled really [well].”

A major moment this season was when the girls beat Colonia 2-0. Although this win was a shutout, a prominent characteristic this year’s team had was their ability to comeback, even when it seemed like they couldn’t. “We had many come-from-behind victories which shows perseverance and is quite an accomplishment in my opinion,” said Coach Joraskie.

It’s safe to say that all of these girls were extremely proud to be a part of the soccer team this season. “We had a really, really good year and I had a lot of fun playing with everyone,” said Demilio.

As for the future, the Lady Barrons will be losing their three senior captains, Korina Roldan, Aimee Balint, and Hadiza Mamman, to graduation. These girls are a key part to the team, but there is still a bright future ahead. As Coach Joraskie puts it, “I think if we put in the hard work in the offseason, the sky’s the limit for what this team can achieve.”