Sewanhaka among conference leaders

Susie Aquino, Gianna Vadachinno and Ann-Chloe Simon have relied on each other since the eighth grade. Now, in their senior year of high school, the trio is being relied upon to lead the Sewanhaka girls’ soccer team to a first-place finish in a heated three-team race for the Nassau Conference 5 crown.
Sewanhaka got off to a 5-1 start and is keeping pace with conference rivals Great Neck South (5-0) and Roosevelt (5-1.)
A big reason why has been the play of Aquino in goal, as she’s posted three shutouts and has allowed more than one goal in a game only once thus far.
“She’s a wonderful, absolutely awesome player,” coach Eric Premisler said. “Everything everything that I could ask for a goalie. She’s very strong and she knows how to play.”
The one time Aquino did struggle came in Sewanhanka’s 4-1 loss to Roosevelt on Sep. 21. However, Premisler’s worries after that game didn’t concern saving goals, but scoring them in the first place.

“We’ve got to start scoring goals,” Premisler said. “We played Roosevelt the first time, and the score didn’t necessarily reflect the game. We passed the ball right to the middle so we made a couple of mistakes, but we only took two shots on goal so we need to shoot more.”
To generate more offense, Premisler has moved Simon from her natural position on the backend to the front as a striker. Simon has performed well, leading the team with seven goals, but is still learning the position as she goes.
“She rushes a little bit,” Premisler said. “She takes shots from a little bit too far away. She gets a little nervous, like a lot of plays at this age. We’re working on that with her, but I think the transition from defensive player to an offensive player has been a great change for her.”
While her two close friends are responsible at opposote ends of the field, Vadachinno is mans the middle for Sewanhaka, setting the example for some of the team’s younger members such as freshman Nahomi Miguel.
“I’m looking for [Vadachinno] to be really like the centerpiece of our offense,” Premisler said. “I think our our hope lies in our midfield.”
The hope for the Indians remains that they can keep up with the top dogs in the conference standings as they have three more games against their rivals left this season, including Great Neck North.
“That’s going to be our biggest challenge,” Premisler said. “Then we got Roosevelt again, and then Great Neck South again. So those are our challenges for the season. As a coach, you want the kids to be ready to go once those big games come around.”
Whether or not the Indians answers those challenges remains to be seen, but at least they’ll friends at their side when they arrive.
“They’re very close with each other,” Premisler said. “They’re best friends, so it’s great seeing them so close. Soccer has been a real good thing for them, building that friendship together.”