No quit in Valley Stream South

Kelly Garay had made up her mind her squad would not go quietly – sensing the importance, if only symbolic, of making a statement.

Her club down 6-0 late in its non-league opener Sept. 4 at West Hempstead, the Valley Stream South senior forward made sure that her Falcons girls’ soccer team at least got its licks in – scoring a goal in the game’s waning moments to spoil the reigning Conference AB2 champs’ shutout bid, as VSS fell 6-1.

New VSS coach Tara Brady, a former women’s soccer assistant coach at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, cited Garay’s grit as an exemplar of what she hopes to establish at VSS (0-3 AB3, 0-4 overall) - a culture of resilience, optimism, and always staying in the moment.

These three pillars have indeed come into play early for the Falcons, who boast just four returning starters – including All-County center back Sara Sierzega and All-Conference midfielder Nina Munafo – and lately have had to make key compromises due to injuries. Garay, an All-Conference center midfielder last year, has had to stop attacking opponents’ nets for the moment – in order to protect her own, filling in at goalie for the past two weeks.

“These girls, while many of them are young and might not have much experience, have a lot of character,” Brady said. “And those with experience are leading by example. Kelly’s goal [against West Hempstead] was all about playing till the final whistle, and now with her stepping up to help us out in net, it showcases not only her versatility but also that she’s a team player.”

Brady added: “I feel really fortunate to have this group of girls for my first season.”

Alongside mainstays Munafo, Sierzega and senior Midfielder Vania Bawla, VSS has welcomed juniors Isabella Rush and Brianna Rocha to its first-string defense, while sophomores Sameen Mir and Gabriella Bivas are first-year starters at midfield and outside back, respectively.

“As a new head coach this season, I’m looking to play to the team’s strengths, but we did graduate quite a few seniors,” said Brady, who looks to build on the Falcons’ mini-turnaround last autumn (4-5-2 after three straight winless seasons) but reckons her task will also involve a certain amount of starting from scratch.

“We're still pretty inexperienced and young, though our young girls are talented,” Brady said, pointing to freshman first-year starters Samantha Pellman (forward) and Veronica Chmiel (midfielder). “They’ve done a good job of catching up with the speed of the game. And everyone on this team’s willing to help out each other, to navigate the challenges. That’s part of the character I talk about, and the respect and resilience.”

Some of that navigation, Brady said, has centered on switching from last year’s 4-3-3 scheme to the 4-4-2 alignment VSS has implemented this season. “I think this formation, with all the new players we have, is a little more concrete and easier to run,” Brady said. “But it could change, just like our lineup has had to change every day.”

Added Brady: “It’ll be nice when we have all our players healthy, when we can really work on running our offense.”