North aims for better results

Valley Stream North’s girls’ soccer team is not rebuilding, or in transition. It isn’t a team lacking experience, and have already suffered through postseason heartbreak. The 2016 Lady Spartans are very much carrying a win-now mentality, and are a group determined to accomplish big things over the next month. 

With most of last fall’s key pieces returning, the bar was set high for the club coming into the season by coach Geoff O’Connell and his staff. 

“From when we went out in the playoffs last year in double overtime, we’ve wanted to come back and really make a name for ourselves,” O’Connell said. “We’re confident that we can finish in the top two in our conference, and have a home playoff game. That’s been our goal from day one.”

VS North has not quite yet taken the leap to an elite squad, going 3-3-1 so far (good for third place in Conference AB2). But, the team has showcased its potential at times over the past month, and has impressed with its resiliency. 

“I think our experience has really helped us out so far this year,” O’Connell said. “We’ve had games where we’ve had to play from behind, and have been able to comeback.”

The Lady Spartans comeback efforts include rallying down from a two-goal deficit against Bellmore-JFK to earn a 3-3 tie on Sept. 13, and coming back against Cold Spring Harbor to win 4-1 last Saturday.

There is still plenty of soccer left to be played, and North’s talented veteran core gives hope that a big second half could be in the future for the program. 

Leading the way is team captains Briana Williams, Yamilee Evelillard, Gianna Filippi and Ashlie Rodriguez. Eveillard is the defending conference player of the year, and has followed up an impressive 2015 campaign, with nine goals and an assist so far this fall. 

Defense is also a strength for the Lady Spartans. Fillippi and fellow seniors Lisa LoSchiavo and Laura Hernandez have all shined on the backend.

Other players, like Baylee Berkley, have stepped up for the club as well. In her first season at the varsity level, Berkley has carved out a strong role for herself, and scored a key goal in a recent win against the Lady Seahawks. 

There is plenty for O’Connell to like about his roster, but North still has much to prove in the final half of the season. Over the next month the Lady Spartans will get second cracks at the three teams that have beaten them already. The schedule concludes with crucial home matchups against North Shore and Mepham. 

“We have to make sure we take care of business with our home games,” O’Connell said. “We have three more left, and they should all be good opportunities to get results that we want. Now we’ll be seeing a couple of teams for the second time, and we want to adjust, play more our game and not their game. We hope to keep on improving.”