THE GAZETTE
Page B-6
Wednesday, September 11, 2013 p
Youthful coach leads Sherwood girls’ soccer First-year coach is fresh off NCAA Division I career n
BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN STAFF WRITER
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Wheaton High School’s Brenda Flores (right) moves the ball against a teammate on Monday during practice at Loiderman Middle School in Silver Spring.
Wheaton finds a few wins Knights’ two wins in 2012 were more than the previous three seasons combined n
BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN STAFF WRITER
A year ago, the Wheaton High School girls’ soccer team was desperate for a win — any triumph — after three consecutive seasons without a single victory. The Knights are not willing to settle in 2013, third-year coach Jeremy Gelling said. Last fall’s two-win campaign was a milestone for the program, but with seven returning starters expectations are high this year for the first time in a long time. The season got off to a good start with Friday’s 2-1 victory over Class 4A John F. Kennedy. “Once you know what it’s like to win, you want to do it more,” senior midfielder/forward Brenda Flores said. “It was definitely a huge accomplishment for all of us because at the beginning [of our tenures] we’d lost all of our games. But now [two wins] isn’t enough for us. We’re definitely more focused and more positive and we have a better understanding of the game.” It’s likely the Knights will continue to be overlooked — Flores admitted that Wheaton sports in general have a poor reputation. But that provides additional motivation, she said. “We have to try and overcome [that bad reputation] every time we step on the field, we have to show that we don’t suck,” Flores said. “We don’t suck, we have potential and we have to prove everyone wrong.” The next step for Wheaton will be pulling off a signature win. In the meantime, Gelling said he is fine with continuing to play the underdog. The Knights will sneak up on teams that underestimate them, he said. There are two main reasons
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Wheaton High School’s Nadja Amaguana (left) controls the ball during Monday’s practice for this new air of confidence around Wheaton soccer: The return of a large core of players who have competed together for two to three years and an influx of young and talented year-round soccer athletes to support them. Gelling and Flores agreed there are more clubsoccerplayersontheKnights’ 2013 squad than in recent history. “We’re more comfortable on the field this year,” Flores said. “Once you play with certain people you know what they can do and what they can’t do.” At the center of Wheaton’s varsity experienced core are Flores, who scored three goals last fall, classmate Meghan Culkin, junior Josselyn Flores (three goals) and sophomore and returning leading scorer Nadja Amaguana (five). As the Knights’ central midfielder and a talented playmaker from all areas of the field, Gelling said, Amaguana is likely to be at the start of many Wheaton scoring runs. Brenda Flores provides much speed on the flanks and can drop back to help on defense and Josselyn Flores is a hustler who
Alpine Dental $ 00 $ 00 49. 499. Exam, X-Ray Dr. A.H. Khan DMD
& Cleaning Only Regular Cleaning New Patients Only Some Restrictions Apply.
(Not Valid With Insurance)
Basic Denture Per Plate Denture consults Free*
• Same Day Dentures Available • Different Styles to choose from • Payment Plan Available • Reline/Rebase/Repair *Some restrictions apply
EMERGENCIES & WALK-INS WELCOME! • Repair & Reline While You Wait • Root Canals/Crowns/Bridges (Not valid w/insurance) • Deep Scaling • Extractions • Implants • Most Insurance Accepted • We Speak Spanish
plays much bigger than her small stature, Gelling said. Amaguana scored both of Wheaton’s goals Friday, the first on a penalty and the second off a corner kick from Culkin. Culkin missed the majority of last season with a dislocated knee, but Gelling said he expects her to have an impact this fall. Another sign the Wheaton program is on the rise is increased participation numbers. Gelling said all his jerseys are occupied this fall for the first time in a while — 45 players between varsity and junior varsity. Five years ago there were only eight players on the junior varsity team. The growing number of players coming in with soccer experience also allows Gelling to keep some players back on junior varsity for development whereas in the past he kept most people with any sort of athleticism on varsity, he said. Two wins in a season might not seem like a big deal for the average Montgomery County high school girls’ soccer team, but last fall’s two-win campaign marked a huge step forward for Wheaton soccer after three straight winless seasons. The Knights don’t intend to stall in 2013. “There are a few teams out there that will be really surprised if we beat them and I think there are a couple teams we can do that to,” Gelling said. “If we can get on a roll early and get some confidence, I think 6-6 is something we’d really like to be.” jbeekman@gazette.net
The Sherwood High School girls’ soccer team’s penalty-kick loss to six-time state champion BethesdaChevy Chase in the Warriors’ first state semifinal appearance last fall was all too familiar for current first-year varsity coach Danielle Rosanova. Just eight years earlier, in 2004, she was a junior on Howard County’s Centennial High team that the Barons brushed aside en route to championship No. 2. “It was just as crushing as a coach,” said Rosanova, who was Sherwood’s junior varsity coach a year ago. “Watching [the girls] cry on the field, I had tears [when we lost in high school].” Rosanova said high school, everything she went through on and off the pitch, is still fresh in her mind. The former NCAA Division I soccer player’s ability to relate to Sherwood’s student-athletes was a major selling point when former four-year coach John Vukovich stepped down in July, said the school’s athletic director, Kathy Green. Recently acquired jobs as a department head and athletic director at nearby Farquhar Middle School made it impossible for Vukovich to give the Warriors as much attention as he’d like, he said. In addition to Rosanova’s relatability, Green said she was impressed with her overall knowledge of women’s soccer — Rosanova played for two years at Monmouth (N.J.) University before finishing her collegiate career at Towson. Familiarity with the college search process she just recently went through and connection to the Sherwood program after a year with the junior varsity squad were added bonuses. Those factors certainly eased the mind of the returning players, Warriors senior Kelly Flammand said. The defensive player said she was admittedly worried when Vukovich’s resignation was announced in July. The team felt close to him — he
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Sherwood High School’s new soccer coach Danielle Rosanova runs a practice at Farquhar Middle School in Olney on Monday. was there for their entire high school tenures — and he had taken the program somewhere it had never been before. But Rosanova’s hiring shortly thereafter eased Flammand’s nerves, she said. Rosanova has made a concerted effort to get to know each of her players individually so she can be in tune with their needs, something Flammand said she and her teammates appreciate. “I think [Rosanova] is going to be great for us,” Flammand said. “She knows us from last year, she is young and she is a girl, she’s been through all this stuff recently. She knows what we are going through in high school. If anyone feels like they need to, we know we can talk to her. Her high school team was good, she played in college so maybe, some of us want to play in college, she will know how to help us out and she knows the game really well.” Primarily a midfielder and defensive player in high school and college, Rosanova’s style revolves around a strong defense and midfield, she said. Fittingly, those are areas where Sherwood has historically shined — another reason Green said she felt good hiring Rosanova. With many new faces, Sherwood is still finding its
KEEPING IT BRIEF As good as advertised If there were anyone doubting how well Alex Holston would make the transition from high school to Division I women’s volleyball — there were probably very few doubters — those reservations have been assuaged quite early in the collegiate season. Holston, Sherwood High School’s most prized volleyball alumna, shattered the University of Florida’s freshman record for kill percentage in the year’s opening weekend (.436) and helped her Gators go 3-0 to begin the season. “She’s been unbelievable,” junior defensive specialist Holly Pole told the Independent Florida Alligator. “To set a record in her first weekend as a freshman is just awesome. She’s such a hard worker, and I love having her on the team.” Holston, who led the Warriors to three consecutive state titles, finished the weekend with 20 kills in 10 sets.
10%
Senior Discount
(Near McDonalds & CVS in Goshen Plaza)
301-740-3955 1906770
jbeekman@gazette.net
Sherwood grad excelling at Florida
9126 Rothbury Dr.• Gaithersburg 10400 Connecticut Ave., Suite 203 Kensington
301-933-7046
identity early. The Warriors enter the 2013 season without several players who were key in the program’s recent rise, most notably four-year starting midfielder and University of Maryland, College Park recruit Hope Gouterman. But Rosanova and Flammand agreed the Warriors have the potential to build on last year’s success this fall. Rosanova said she was shocked last fall when she found out Sherwood’s 2012 state semifinal run was the first in school history. Growing up in Howard County she had heard of Warriors’ soccer, she said, and always held the program in high regard. Her longtime respect for the program was one of the first things she shared with her charges this fall, Flammand said, and her belief in Sherwood soccer has earned the Warriors’ trust. “[Rosanova] has a lot of faith in us, which makes us have faith in ourselves,” Flammand said. “It’s so cool that she played high school soccer in Maryland, she kind of feels that passion with us. She knew about Sherwood, it gives us that much more inspiration.”
1906766
1890695
From Magruder to Lafayette In the first weekend of her final high school volleyball season, Col. Zadok Magruder’s Lizzi Walsh all but tied up her recruiting process, TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE verbally committing to Col. Zadok Magruder High School’s play for La- Lizzi Walsh is amongst the school’s fayette in the all--time statistical leaders. 2014 season. According to coach Scott Zanni, Walsh has assembled a 61-7 record in her first three seasons as a Colonel, including three county division titles, three Magruder Invitational tournament titles and has helped her team earn a berth in at least the regional semifinals every year. With a full season to play, Walsh is currently ranked sixth in the school for career kills (373), blocks (75) and points scored (473). She plans to sign her letter of intent in November. —TRAVIS MEWHIRTER