The fall season just started and the Waterford soccer girls are hungry for a strong season.  In a current 3-7 start for the fall season, the ladies are striving for more wins. “I wouldn’t be an athlete if I didn’t like winning,” says junior Claudia Blázquez, “I want to win as a team and go far in the tournaments of ECCs and States.” Blázquez is a forward player, her name often blares out of the speakers on the Alumni Turf. You could hear following celebratory cheers from the crowd if you were miles away. Blázquez is known for her strategic footwork, ball handling, and strike.

Sophomore, Kendra Gregg,  is a strong central back in the game. Gregg is known for her strong kicks and wall-like defensive stance, as she stands at five feet, ten inches. She lives up to the nickname of ‘Diesel’ from blocking passes and shots between her and the goal. “No one person inspires me, everyone inspires me to do something different.” she says.  The girls are working very hard to accomplish personal and unified goals as a team, like making more accurate shots, better footwork, ball handling, and more. “Overall, communication is always an issue,” says Blázquez, “we need to work as a team more, we’re definitely working on that in practice.” The team works on speed and agility as a whole, using ladder sprints, small hurdles, and lots of incremented sprinting.

They take immense amounts of time being more reactive to surroundings on the field, making Waterford’s ball possession a strong factor to a unified team. “I hope we act and play as a team,” freshman Aimee Girard says, “we all play soccer because we love it and we all have the same goal. We can’t score and defend goals individually. We have to work as a team to achieve everything we want.” Girard takes part into a separate premier team, as well as the ‘Olympic Development Program’ for soccer. As a central midfield player, she’s moving 100% of the time, mostly in swift jogs and heavy sprints. She’s overjoyed about her new friends from the team. Players improve the older and more experienced they get from becoming a part of a team.  Blázquez says, “Be confident as a player and know that you can accomplish anything.” When asked what she’s learned from playing varsity soccer since her freshman year. “Always try one hundred percent of the time, it always pays off.” Gregg says, coming from her second season on the varsity team.

“My soccer team is like a second family to me… they mean a lot.” “[I looked up to] Mia Brennan [Class of 2017], definitely a leader in my eyes… Also Jacklyn Lavoie [Class of 2018], they were leaders, good people, and good friends. They wanted the best for everyone.” Blázquez states, reflecting on her past graduates that played alongside her. “It’s great to play with such talented players and a coaching staff that is always trying to make us better. I know this team is going to do great things this season and seasons to come.” Girard says, putting a positive attitude towards on and off the field.

As the Lady Lancers move along in the season they improve their game, mentally and physically. Personal and team goals are motivating them to win States, ECCs, and the rest of the games remaining in their 2018 fall season.