By Christopher Tremblay

The Norwood girls’ soccer team has had its share of tough seasons, and despite going 0-10 last year, the Mustangs are geared to turn things around this fall. According to Head Coach, Kim Brinklow, Norwood found themselves on some rather lopsided scores up until recently, but last year things started to move in a positive direction.

“We’ve dramatically improved our game from the previous years,” the Mustang Coach said. “We were used to losing by double digits last year, and although we went winless, we never lost a game by more than two points. Needless to say, I am super optimistic about this season.”

Last season, the coaching staff decided to change some formations on the field and the girls started to believe in themselves. In addition to the changes from a year ago, a lot more of the girls decided to take part in club soccer during the spring while also participating in a summer league in Norton, which they captured the championship.

Leading the Mustangs onto the field this season will be tri-captains, center back Cece Vendetti, defender Sam Reen, and midfielder Ally Steeves. Brinklow is looking for her captains to keep the girls motivated while making sure the positivity and energy are moving in the right direction. Vendetti will lock down the Mustang defense, Reen is the motivator who will defend the right side of the field and look to move into the offense zone to provide Norwood with some goal scoring opportunities, and Steeves should see her playing time expanded. Brinklow sees Steeves as a strong, physical player with good passing skills and is hoping that the midfielder can do some scoring damage in the attacking zone.

“In the past, a lot of the girls were afraid to take that offensive shot, but having played in the summer league they have seen what positive things they could accomplish, and I hope that translates to the high school season,” Brinklow said. “In addition to seeming a little looser on the field, the girls are all encouraging one another.”

Not only does Brinklow have a talented group of captains at her disposal, but she also has four sophomores that got a lot of playing time last fall as first-year players. Leading the quartette will be goalie Trisha Wladkowski, who had a great season as a freshman keeper. Wladkowski is a very mobile keeper with solid hands that very rarely allows rebounds. Brinklow is working with her to filter the ball out of the Norwood end in a quicker fashion to get the Mustang transition moving downfield. 

Michaela Reen will be playing top striker; Paige Barnette will be at center-mid, and Alexa Coras will be at center back. The four sophomores will be an important nucleus for Norwood moving into the future. Brinklow has seen the confidence in their play increase and that should translate to the Mustangs producing more offense this season.

Over the past few seasons, Norwood’s offensive attack has pretty much been non-existent, and if the Mustangs truly want to turn the corner while making a run, they are going to need to find an offensive grove sooner than later. In order to do that Brinklow will be relying on Coras and Vendetti to be those pivotal pieces to getting things going.

“We definitely need to focus on scoring and generating offense this year,” Brinklow said. “These girls are hungry for scoring now that they have been able to do so in the spring and summer leagues. Instead of playing defensively they are taking to the ball more aggressively.”

The Norwood Coach is hoping that her squad comes out of the gates fast and with passion. She is also anticipating that they are able to put some balls behind the oppositions goalies so they can begin to move the team in the right direction. While Brinklow is not looking for the girls to go worst to first, she is hoping that they can secure some wins under their belts as the team begins its ascent toward the top of the Tri-Valley League.