In each of the past three years, an Eagle-Tribune local girls soccer team has captured a New Hampshire state championship crown: with Pelham in 2022, followed by Timberlane Regional and Pinkerton Academy.
Heading into this season, the Astros have the potential of keeping that trend going, and perhaps repeating as champs for the first time since winning the program’s first two titles back in 2015 and ’16.
“We have a large group of returning players who are excited for trying to have another successful season,” said head coach Danielle Rappa. “They watched their hard work over the course of last season pay off at the end, so that’s again a huge motivating factor going into this season. Already they are putting in that same kind of effort. We know that we will have a target on our backs, and we have talked through what that might mean and how that might look.”
Pinkerton finished the second half of last season 9-0-1, and outscored teams 27-1, including 8-1 in the playoffs. Most of that scoring was done by the trio of Bella Sippel (14-2-16), Cali Lockwood (6-4-10) and Audrey Earehart (6-4-10), while at the other end of the field junior goalie Sydney Mlynarski, who registered three straight shutouts in the playoffs, made just under 100 saves and is also returning. Those four players have been elected team captains.
A Golden duo
After serving as the Salem boys assistant coach for nine years and the head coach for four years, Justin Golden has returned to the bench as the new head coach of the Blue Devils girls’ program. He inherits a team that lost quite a bit to graduation, and will have 15 newcomers. However, the team has two perennial goal scorers in senior captain Presley Marinelli (7-3-10) and junior Aaliyah Hajjar (7-4-11).
“I am very excited to be working with this dedicated and extremely driven group,” said Golden. “We want to compete hard each match and set a foundation for success to grow as a program. Our seniors and juniors have done a great job guiding the underclassmen throughout the summer. There should be many opportunities for our newcomers to step up to the challenge and gain valuable playing experience.”
Fellow captains Makayla Burns and Maeve Shpak will have big impacts between midfield and defensive positions.
Owls ready to make some noise
Two years ago, Timberlane won the Division I state championship. Last year, the Owls came away with two upset victories in the playoffs, before losing to eventual state champ Pinkerton Academy in the semi-finals. Longtime head coach Jeff Baumann resigned, and his nine-year assistant coach Sam Labate is taking over.
“I am excited to build upon the success that our program has had in the past few seasons. We have strong returning players that are a year older and wiser and some dynamic newcomers,” she said. “The upperclassmen are stepping into leadership roles and need to continue pushing each other and the younger players. The hope for us is to be very physically fit and able to stay consistent for the game’s duration.”
Alli Harb (14-5-19) returns as one of the area’s top scorers, while the talented Brooke Langlois will be out all season with an injury. Goalie Bella Johnson returns after making over 100 saves in her first season.
Position change for Neal
Heading into this season, there will be a handful of changes with the Windham Jaguars. George Fortin is taking over as the head coach, while senior captain Iida Sehulster returns after missing last season with an ACL injury, and two-year starting midfielder Harley Neal will be taking over the goalie position.
“Harley has stepped up to fill that role and we’re excited to see her continue to grow,” said Fortin.
The Jaguars will need a few players to find the back of the net, but at the other end, Kylie Candon returns as a top midfielder and Kaylan Martin will lead the defense.
“We have outstanding leadership, great chemistry, and a lot of skilled players,” said Fortin. “If we can put it all together, I believe we will play some quality soccer and give a lot of teams headaches.”
Division II
Pythons working their way up
Pelham had a tough 2024 season with one win, but there’s a handful of talented athletes on this year’s roster: Including midfielders Lexy Brodeur and Grace Riley, defenders Jessie Phillips and Kayli Milward, and goalie Hailey Davis.
“We graduated some key seniors but have a young group of underclassmen entering the program,” said head coach Rick Morgan. “Each year, the goal is to have a productive season and with a young group, learning to play together and get better each day is the attainable goal.”
In addition to the five returners, Pelham will have 16 first-year players.