SACO — The Thornton Academy girls soccer team surprised themselves a little bit last season, making it to the Western Maine semifinals before losing to Gorham. This season, success won’t be a surprise for the Trojans, who look to make “Golden” more than just part of their nickname.
The Trojans bring back a lot of key players from last year, some of whom have been part of the program fro a while.
“Its good, because its experience,” said head coach Chris Kohl about having a bunch of returning players. “I’ve coached many of them for three years now. So they kind of understand the rigors of the SMAA, and that you can’t underestimate opponents, and if you do bad things can happen.”
The Trojans snuck up on some teams last year, as they were a bit of an unknown with a younger core. Now they are a known commodity, and Kohl said they can’t just expect the same success to come this year.
“I told them ”˜It’s a lot of hard work, and just because you got there last year doesn’t guarantee that you will get there this year.’ All the hard work comes now,” said Kohl. “If you work hard now, do the right things now, then you’re going to have those opportunities in late October, early November.”
Kohl doesn’t think it will be a problem with these girls putting in the extra effort needed for a playoff run.
“They have come in with a really driven focus of being successful, and they want to capitalize on every opportunity they have,” said Kohl.
The girls have stressed the ”˜team’ aspect as they prepare for the season, knowing they are only as strong as their weakest link.
“It’s all about team. We all have to work together,” said senior captain Katelyn Pierson. “If one person is not in it, then we (all) can’t be in it. So we have to just make sure that everyone is together.”
Pierson said that this team is a close group, the closest she can remember.
Senior goalie Emily Richard said even the younger players have bought in to what the team wants to accomplish.
“The girls that we have brought up all want the same goal that we do as a team. It’s going to be a team effort to make it to states, and I think we can do it this year,” said Richard.
Kohl thinks that this team can go as far as they want to go. They just need to take all the necessary steps to get there.
“Its all up to them, Its in their hands. They know what they want to do. If they keep committed to the their goals, they will be very successful,” said Kohl. “And its a group that is very driven.”
It’s also a group that is very confident going into this season. When asked how far they can go, senior captain Katie Couture said, “We’re hoping all the way. We think we can.”
— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
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