The Mt. Hope girls soccer team kicked off their season with a physically tough, 0-0 tie against North Kingstown in a Division I league game on Friday evening.
Huskies senior goalkeeper Thea …
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The Mt. Hope girls soccer team kicked off their season with a physically tough, 0-0 tie against North Kingstown in a Division I league game on Friday evening.
Huskies senior goalkeeper Thea Brum kept the ball out of the back of the net time and time again with a 14 save effort.
None were bigger than the diving stop that she made on a Skippers direct kick that sailed over a line of teammates and appeared to be heading into the upper right corner of the net.
The smaller Brum leaped in the direction of the ball, got her hands on it and gave it a bear hug as she dropped to the ground.
“Thea played outstanding,” said Huskies Assistant Coach Ian Mutti. “She made some big stops. She was aggressive and fearless. And probably a little busier than we like her.”
Brum will have a lot of help this season from seniors Brooke Desmarais and Maddie Pacheco playing center defense in front of her.
Pacheco suffered an injury to her hip as a sophomore. After surgery last year, she is healthy and back playing for the Huskies.
“Both are looking strong,” Brum said.
“We have been doing a lot of fitness training to get into shape to play physical teams like NK,” added Pacheco.
Maddie is a big asset for our team this year,” said Huskies Assistant Coach Brendan Craveiro. “She and Thea are starting to gel. It’s happening from the back up. Goalie and defense are the backbone of the team.”
The Huskies offensive also has a new look this year. First year sophomore Angela Lee is playing striker.
Senior Tess McKenzie who played the position last year moved back to attacking midfielder to give the team strength through the middle.
Senior forward Kaelen McKenna plays on the wing.
The Huskies put up 15 shots on Skippers goalkeeper Riley Sprague, but failed to boot one by her.
The trio came close several times, ending with Lee or Mckenzie or both draped over Sprague after she had made the save.
“We lost a lot of seniors last year,” said senior midfielder Kaelen McKenna. “This year we have a lot of freshman starting for us. I think that we are going to be good. We just have to practice hard every day. It’s the beginning of the season and it’s all about getting better.”
Team captains, Thea Brum, Kaelen McKenna, Maddie Pacheco and Tess McKenzie are attempting to improve the team’s play and camaraderie.
“We are a lot closer and more positive this year. We captains have been playing together since we were like three. We will do our best to lead the team well,” said Brum.
Pacheco added, “We are getting there. As a team we have to just keep working together.”
Assistant coach Craveiro played on the Huskies 2007 soccer team that lost in the championship to Hope.
“This team is like a Cinderella story,” he said. “It is capable of doing big things. But right now they may not look like that. In the long run, I think that they will definitely impress.”
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