Girls and Boys Soccer Each Have Historic Seasons

By Ryan Sy
  Both the Wall High School girls and boys soccer teams won sectional titles during the 2019-20 season, marking the first time both won sectional crowns in the same campaign. 
    It was the third Central Group II sectional title in the last four years for the girls. The Central Group III title is the first for the boys team since 2004. The girls team finished with a record of 16-6 while the boys team finished with a record of 17-4-2. 
    “We really started to bond together after a few weeks,” said senior Izabella Aravich. “Once this happened, we truly began to play as a team on the field. We started off the season 1-3, after that it was like we turned on a switch and just kept winning.”
    The girls won the sectional title by a narrow margin, emerging victorious 2-1 in double overtime. The difference in the game was a MacKenize Tranberg goal. The senior’s shot sneaked under the crossbar and into the back of the net. 
    The road to the title, however, was not easy in the beginning. The team began the season with a three-game losing streak. That makes this title even more impressive considering the sluggish start to the season. 
    The boys team, on the other hand, won their sectional title game in overtime with the game-winning goal coming from the foot of junior Nico DellaPietro. This goal was a difficult shot to make since it came on a bounce. 
    “Our team was so successful because we played as one unit and everyone trusted each other on the field,” said senior Thomas Perry. “We had one of the best defenses in the state and our team could play with anyone.” 
    The boys defensive unit posted 15 shutouts in the 23 games the boys played. 
    Both teams will need to fill the void of the departing seniors. The girls team is losing eight seniors and the boys team is losing 14 seniors. 
    In the finals, both the girls and boys fought hard in losing efforts. Both games went into double overtime. The boy’s game, however, did not end after double overtime and went into a penalty shootout.  Even though each team’s season did not end the way the players and coaches wanted to, both teams played a hard and successful season and have made their mark in the Wall High School history books.