Girls Soccer Preview: Hopes are high for Carroll, O’Hara

Soccer previews have been hitting the blog all week, led by the story of Garnet Valley’s closeness and five players to watch. We also did team-by-team previews of the Central League. Here’s the wrap up of the rest of the squads.

Archbishop Carroll appears to be a program on the rise after five Catholic League wins last season. The Patriots return three important senior contributors in forwards Juliet Rossetti and Meghan Matey and defender Mandi Rafanello. But the strength is in youth, including the full complement of two JV teams and freshman squads for both the boys and girls this season, a new feature.

Juniors Morgan Rake and Bella Sorrentino will contribute in defense and midfield, while sophomores Claire Boylan and Grace Gallagher will battle for time in net. The runner-up on any given day will contribute in midfield alongside classmate Rachel Matey. Freshman forward Paige Mastripolito is also tabbed to chip in.

Cardinal O’Hara returns its leading scorer in Jenny West, who enters her fourth varsity season after a 10-goal campaign. She’s more the exception than the norm, though, as Dave Cornish has to replace a bevy of veterans.

Joining West with varsity experience is Domenique DiFiore, Christina Wallace, Chrissy Donohue, Gina Amoroso and Maura Hendrixson. The Lions will require plenty of new varsity players to step up, including goalie Kerry Paterson, Michelle Matteo and Victoria Amoroso.

Chichester notched 10 wins last season, an impressive haul for Greg Stapert’s team. If they hope to replicate that this year, they’ll have to get the most from a high-scoring midfield led by Megan Carroll, Tara Klepacki, Monigo Karnley and Desiree Pannah.

Haley Coale will step in in goal, while Kayla DiPaolo will be responsible for marshaling the defense.

Interboro will cope with losing 11 seniors from last year’s team, but this year’s senior class is talented if small. Midfielder Deana Rivello and forward Hailey Fisher will comprise the Bucs’ primary threats at goal, while Madison Hengey and Megan Billbrough will also contribute.

Goalie Melanie Chubb returns after handling starting duties last season, and a defense that includes senior Karleigh Kennedy and junior Katie Receiveur will be bolstered by the return of Stephanie Molino from a leg injury that cost her last season. Freshman midfielder Cassidy Chadwick will also figure into the rotation.

Penn Wood will embark on a full schedule this season after playing just league games a season ago.

There isn’t a ton of experience returning for Chris Lambert’s Sun Valley squad off a 5-13 campaign in 2014. In fact, he counts only two seniors, Abbigail Ferrie and Angelina Maroulis, on his roster.

The largest portion of his squad hails from the class of 2018 – 12 in total – which bodes well for the future. Two of those, Sam Bowen and Devon Linn, were among the Vanguards’ biggest contributors last year, as was McKenzie McGinnis. The goalkeeping job will be filled by a sophomore this season, with Amy Parker and Elizabeth Terrey vying for minutes.

Half of Delco Christian’s All-Delco duo (forward Julia Kyne and her 35 goals) graduated last year, but the other half, senior midfield string-puller Kailey Neef, returns as the Knights hope to get over the hump after losing in the District One Class A title game each of the last two seasons. That effort is slowed slightly by a nagging knee injury to Neef and a general injury malaise that has befallen the Knights in preseason.

The strength of the team is in the senior class, which includes Neef, Brenna Richards and Jillian and Jessica Freeman. The goals will come primarily from the juniors, where Alex Thompson (13) was the second-leading scorer a season ago and Taylor Mingle broke out with eight in her freshman campaign.

Faith Warmhold and Ronnie Marie Falasco will again share time in net, while junior Claudia Norton also constitutes an important piece to the puzzle.

The Christian Academy embarks on its inaugural PIAA campaign with much of the attacking firepower back from last season, including all three double-digit scorers – seniors Carli Sitkowski and Grace Cryan and sophomore Lindsay Haseltine. They’ll supplement that attacking trio with promising freshman Grace Gormley in a program where freshmen regularly contribute (see the history of Haseltine and Cryan).

The Crusaders also benefit from another season with junior Madison Dutton in goal.