Justin Feil

By: centraljersey.com
The New Egypt girls soccer team opened the 2010 season with a tough loss to Maple Shade on Thursday, the same team it lost to at the end of last season in the South Jersey Group I state tournament opener.
"It’s tough to open up with someone you lost to," said New Egypt head coach Jennifer Kociuba.
Kociuba has a far different side from the one that lost, 2-0, to Maple Shade at the end of last year. Graduated are eight seniors, who were an integral part of the Warriors.
"We’re definitely rebuilding," Kociuba said. "Right now, we have a lot of returners that have seen time up on varsity and they’ll be starting. We have some freshmen that came in and filled spots."
The Warriors started three freshmen in their opener and used another two off the bench. There will be a learning curve as the new starters and contributors adjust to their roles, but Kociuba has been encouraged by the early progress.
"What I saw was our speed of play has definitely improved," she said. "From the girls that have played before, a lot of the plays are clicking, and the girls are clicking together. It’s a matter of getting the newer girls that are just starting this year to get on page with everyone else."
New Egypt was scheduled to play Lawrence on Monday in a non-conference matchup, then go on the road today at Florence.
"We dropped to the Freedom Division from the Patriot," Kociuba said. "I see us putting up some competition in that division. Pemberton and Palmyra and Florence will be good. I know Florence lost a few girls. Both Palmyra and Pemberton have a lot of girls with experience coming back."
New Egypt is trying to pick up game experience as they go. They got their lone goal against Maple Shade from Heather Dey, a senior. Their goalie Haley Anderson, is also a senior. The Warriors will lean on the older girls to bring along the newcomers.
"I see that they’re getting a little more comfortable," Kociuba said. "We saw some girls that have seen some time made some big plays in the first game. I hope it’ll be that way in the future too."
Glimpses of solid play have been encouraging for New Egypt. The keys to the
"I definitely think it’s going to depend on the speed of play," Kociuba said. "We played Clayton in the preseason. They’re the (South Jersey) Group I champs so it was a big deal. I saw a lot of promise there with the speed of play and our communication. It’s a matter of getting it all to work on the same day."
There will be plenty of competition in a new division, though the Warriors have also retained some of their old familiar opponents from the higher division.
"I like to challenge the girls," Kociuba said. "They can see where they are with the other teams in the grouping."
The Warriors are expecting growth throughout the season, particularly as their less experienced players get up to speed. The Warriors know will be a lot stronger by the end of the year.
"We’re hoping they improve a lot," Kociuba said. "Any given team can beat any team any given day, especially in high school. We’re hoping the experience they get in the first two games gives them time to settle down the rest of the season. We start off with a couple of really hard games. Then we get some less challenging games that will let us get some more time in some other players in. Hopefully that will help."
Seniors for New Egypt are Haley Anderson, Heather Dey, Jamie Kisthardt, Jessica Lambert and Courtney Raab. Juniors are Samantha Bendick, Julie Ciak, Kassandra Stillwell and Theresa Tiedge. Sophomores include Nicole Miller and Kimberly Wilson. Freshman are Kayla Bancroft, Jackie Beckett, Elena Brown, Bridgette Buckalew, Emily Garey, Jamie Soles, Amber Steen and Katharina Tinnirello.