By Rob Potter
November 29, 2005 – Editor’s Note: Today we begin our look back at how local girls’ soccer teams fared during the recently completed 2005 scholastic season.

ELDRED

Overall Record: 6-11

Division Record: 3-5 Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI

Top Players: Sasha Brush, a senior center forward, led the Lady Yellowjackets this autumn by scoring nine goals.
Junior wing Jess Bisland recorded eight goals and a team-high six assists.
Junior halfback Steph Berger had five assists.

Season Highlight: “It was the Fallsburg game,” Coach Jolene Porter said. “It was the second to last game of the season and we ended up winning 5 to 4. We had to come from behind to get the win.”

Season Lowlight: “Missing sectionals by one game,” Porter said. “If we would have beaten Roscoe in our last game, we would have qualified for the sectional tournament.”

Other: “These girls made some big improvements this season,” Porter commented. “We only had four seniors, so we were a young team. We have 11 players returning next season and I look forward to seeing how well they do.”
The four seniors whom the Lady Yellowjackets will lose to graduation are Brush, halfback Becky Hallock, halfback Ayla Kelty and goalie/fullback Jamie Schombs.

LIVINGSTON MANOR

Overall Record: 5-8-3

Division Record: 5-1-2 OCIAA Division VI

Top Players: Leading the Lady Wildcats in scoring this season was junior forward Jackie Trotti. She had nine goals and also recorded three assists.
Sophomore forward Valentina Babich netted seven goals.
Senior forward Tiffany Parker had five goals and two assists.
Junior goalie Bionca Colton played in every match this season.

Season Highlight: “Playing in the sectional final was a highlight for us,” Coach Shirlee Davis said. “Everybody got pretty excited about that.”
“Seeing improvement in a lot of kids was another highlight,” Davis added.
Davis noted that just coaching the Lady Wildcats this season was a highlight. Originally, Davis, who has been a sixth-grade teacher in the Livingston Manor Central School District for several years, thought that she would not be coaching this year because she had applied for an administrative position within the district. But that did not work out, so she returned to the sixth-grade classroom and the soccer field.
She may apply for that administrative position again next year, however.
“If this was my coaching swan song, I’m happy to go out with a great group of kids and a very good season,” Davis said.

Season Lowlight: Davis noted that it was the Lady Wildcats’ loss to
Chapel Field in the Section IX Class D title match on November 3 at the Hudson Valley Sports Dome in Milton. Chapel Field topped Manor by a final score of 5-1 that afternoon.
“We had a big crowd of people there to support us,” Davis explained. “But it was disappointing because we had all of those fans there and we didn’t show them the kind of soccer we played in order to reach that game.”
Davis said that not moving senior Dana Manell to offense earlier was another lowlight. Manell began the season as the team’s sweeper, but scored four goals after Davis moved her to the forward line midway through the campaign.

Other: “Overall, I am pleased with the way things worked out this season,” Davis commented. “I look forward to working with these girls again next year if the opportunity presents itself.
The Lady Wildcats will lose five seniors to graduation: Manell, Parker, defender/midfielder Katie Portz, midfielder/forward Heather Sherwood and midfielder/forward Miranda Zeininger.