Varsity Soccer Having Successful Season

The GHS Varsity Soccer team has been very successful this year. As of this week, they are in 1st place in the Woodland Conference with 10 wins and 1 tie. Overall, they have a 12-2-1 record.

Varsity Head Coach George Knezic describes his driving motive and experience as head coach.

“I played since I was very young for a club, which was not very common or popular.  I went on to play division 1 college soccer at UWM, won a state amature championship as a player for the Milwaukee Serbs in the major division,” he said. “I have been coaching high school soccer for 16 years, 12 of those at Greendale. I love the game and also love to be challenged by young players at the high school level.  I use soccer as an exercise to help young high school players develop and succeed in making the next step in life, hopefully making the right choices.”

The varsity players really enjoy the game and seem to really love their teammates as well. Freshman Jovana Pupovac describes her favorite part of soccer.

“I love playing on a team because we all help each other become better athletes and better teammates. Playing soccer is a lot of fun, especially when you and your teammate are close,” she said. “My favorite part about playing soccer is when I or someone on my team scores a goal, the excitement we all feel is always worth the hard work.”

In addition to having fun, junior Ella Farley’s favorite part of her team is watching her teammates grow to become the best they can be.

“My favorite part is the team atmosphere and how we are able to work hard and still have time to have fun. My favorite part of playing soccer is seeing plays develop and watch players improve and enjoy the game because I enjoy the game and want others to feel the same,” she said.

Freshman Madeline Filetti is passionate in soccer and enjoys becoming close friends with her teammates.

“My favorite part of the team is that we work well as a unit. My favorite part about playing soccer is making friends through the sport that I love,” she said.

In recent action, the team defeated South Milwaukee 3-0 this past Wednesday. Two goals were scored by senior captain Taylore DeLong and one by junior midfielder Kale McGee.  Junior Nina Delgadillo earned her 8th conference shutout of the season.

Although they are having a lot of success, there is always room for improvement. Junior Anna Turdo describes what she thinks the team should work on to improve their performance

“I feel that the team should work on communicating on the field. My goal for the team is to make it past the regional final,” she said.

Farley’s goal is to make it to State as a team.

“I want our team to work on our skillwork and technique to improve the game even more. My goal for our team is to make it farther in State then we have in past years,” she said.

Senior Catie Caruso hopes that the team improves by learning from their mistakes.

“I would advise them [teammates] to learn from their mistakes and continue to improve in their soccer knowledge,” she said.

Pupovac’s goal for the team is to hustle for the ball and to better communicate on the field.

“I think our team specifically can work on being the first to the ball and having a good first touch. As well as communication, which is extremely important especially in a team sport,” she said. “I want my team to play strong every game, in order for us to succeed this season.”

Knezic believes that the team needs to work on their consistency and to beat Eisenhower.

“We play very well against good teams and not as well against lower level teams.  Our main goal for the season now is to win the Woodland Conference with four games remaining, three at home,” he said. “The last is at home against New Berlin Eisenhower.”

Filetti believes that her high school soccer experience is a whole lot different than her non-school experiences.

“Playing on Varsity is different from playing on non-school teams because the level of competition is way higher, and it is different because I have to learn the way that my new team plays, so that I can try my best to play to their level,” she said.

Pupovac is proud to be playing on a varsity level and noticed the difference in commitment.

“Playing on varsity is a very cool experience because you feel like you’ve reached the top and you get to show everyone that you worked hard to be where you are. Playing in high school is much more serious and time consuming than it was when I was younger and playing in club,” she said. “We have practices and games everyday and need to be committed to showing up and playing our best.”

This past Thursday, Greendale also beat Franklin with a 5-0. Two goals each were scored by DeLong and Turdo and one by McGee.  Delgadillo earned her 8th conference shutout of the season.

Farley is pleased that the team has been more successful this year than in the past.

“In years past we haven’t won as many games as we have this year. I think our upperclassman have taken on the leadership roles and really proved themselves over and over on the field,” she said.

Knezic feels that their best game was a win against the defending conference champions, Pewaukee 2-0.

“They are the defending conference champs and have a very strong program.  We played them very tough, had good possession and the goals we scored were very nice!” he said. “Goalkeeper Nina Delgadillo also earned the shutout. That was one of the biggest wins for the program in several years.”

Pupovac agrees with Knezic; she feels their best performance proved what their team was capable of.

“Our best game so far was against a far better team. It was challenging but we all proved that we have the ability to be great as well and in the end we won,” she said.

Filetti thinks their performance are best when they are challenged.

“In my opinion, I think that our team’s best games are when we are faced with more difficult teams, because it gives us a challenge and pushes us to play to our best ability,” she explained.