Girls' Soccer Crushes Competition in Title Run

A common question in sports is when is it proper to call a team a dynasty?

For the Girls Soccer Team, that time is now.

Coming off their third consecutive Group IV Greater Morris County Junior Schools Coaches Championship, the team went undefeated in 2011, winning nine games and outscoring their opponents 44-4.

The team was recognized and honored by the on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

According to coach Kevin Demarest, 12 of the players have been on the team for the past two seasons, and have won back-to-back titles. Those same girls can boast a two-season combined record of 20-0-1.

As the saying goes, defense wins championships, and the team can look directly at its goalie, Ilissa Webb for that effort. Webb has posted 17 shutouts in the past two seasons.

Two players notched 11 goals apiece this season, and 11 other players scored at least one goal in 2011. The team was comprised of four seventh graders and 18 eighth graders for a roster of 22. 

"I attribute our success to the girls high level of skill, their dedication and camaraderie to each other as teammates and their school, their motivation and desire to succeed," Demarest said. "The girls never played from behind, we had an outstanding defense to protect our goal, with an outstanding keeper.  They have been a great, fun and easy group to coach."

With school sports comes new faces and teams, however, and Demarest says he's ready for the challenge.

"I'll certainly miss my (graduating) eighth graders and look to my four returning seventh graders to carry on the winning tradition here at the school and set the pace for the upcoming fall season once we form our team anew again," Demarest said. "Every girl on this team has made important contributions to our championship season and I look forward to hearing about their continued successes in the sport as they go through West Morris Central."