Maziarz helps Raiders gain momentum
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
The Hun School girls soccer team’s strong finish last year coincided with a return to the field by Ashley Maziarz.
Now a senior, Maziarz is helping to anchor a defense that has helped the Raiders to a faster start. On Thursday on their home pitch, the Hun defense came back from a late second-half deficit for a last-minute 2-1 win over Princeton Day School for their first win of the year.
”I think it’s building our confidence,” Maziarz said. “We saw how hard we worked to get the ball back and get those two goals. And starting out with lots of new players, we’re trying to get used to each other, trying to get comfortable playing with each other. We have a lot of good players on the team. I think we’re finally getting into a rhythm and it’s starting to pay off.”
Both teams had chances, and it was PDS that got on the board first when Hannah Bunce finished a cross from Allison Klei despite shooting from a difficult angle. With 26 minutes still to play, Hun had to respond.
”I think it was a missed communication and missed marking,” Maziarz said. “I thought I was supposed to slide out and someone else did, so it was a missed communication. But after that, I tried to tell everyone not to get their heads down because I knew we were in the game. We’d been playing well throughout the game. I didn’t want people to get their heads down — I knew we could come back and get in the game. Thankfully, we did that.”
Hun had rallied to earn a tie with Germantown Academy with a second-half rally Tuesday, and rallied again against the Panthers. Kara Borden cleaned up a corner kick with 18 minutes left to tie the game for Hun. Borden then fed Abby Gray for the game-winner with two minutes to go.
”I knew we had it in us,” said Hun head coach Joanna Hallac. “The first half, we were kind of knocking on the door. And then to go a goal down with how well we were playing, it showed a lot of resilience on their part and a lot of fight. After the game against Germantown on Tuesday, I felt like we had some momentum coming into today.
”We were down and played a really good second half and came back and were doing some nice things. I think the chemistry on the field started to click, they started to gel finally and I think we’re finally putting everything together.”
Hun continued to build its momentum as it improved to 2-1-1 with a 5-0 win over Nottingham on Saturday. Jessica Sacco scored three goals for the Raiders. Sacco and Maziarz, a Chesterfield resident, were both out at times in the beginning of last season, and the Lehigh University-bound duo are in their second year as captains.
”Ashley in the back, she’s so solid and her leadership back there is so great,” Hallac said. “And Jess Sacco is paying like an animal in the middle. The leadership those two have shown is really helping this young group develop. It’s invaluable.”
Hun’s young players are fitting in well. They haven’t waited long to make an impact.
”Kara Borden has just been fantastic for us,” Hallac said. “She is showing a lot of promise as a young player. Her size and speed, she just gives the other teams a lot of headaches. She will be dangerous going to goal, and she creates chances for other people too. She sees the field very well and it’s kind of scary to think what she’s going to be like as a senior.”
When Borden scored, it gave the Raiders a big push. It was a breakthrough that they needed.
”I think it was more momentum because being down 1-0, it’s always the team that scores after that that has momentum because they’re back in the game,” Maziarz said. “They know they have a chance of winning. That’s how we felt.”
It was a chance to avenge a loss to PDS last year in what’s been a good local matchup of strong teams. It’s one that Maziarz missed out on last year due to injury.
”They’re definitely a very good team,” she said. “We knew coming in they’d be a very good opponent. We got in the mindset of playing our game, playing with each other, and trying to get our rhythm together. I think that definitely helped, and knowing we lost to them last year, that kind of fueled the fire.”
On the other side, PDS played without its leader in the middle, captain Kirsten Kuzmicz, and then lost defenders Erin Hogan, who is another captain, and Alexis Davis.
”It’s a test,” said PDS head coach Pat Trombetta after slipping to 2-2-1. “We’re not real deep, but these girls fought for the full 80 minutes. You get the first goal, but then we probably sat back more than we should have because there was too much time left on the clock. And they started putting pressure on us.
”But right after their goal, we bounced right back and had an opportunity. So it’s a game that could have gone either way. But I’m proud of the way they fought throughout.”
The Panthers were coming off back-to-back-to-back shutouts, but their offense hasn’t kicked into full gear yet.
”We haven’t been giving up many goals this year, but we haven’t been scoring any either,” Trombetta said. “We had three shutouts in a row. Offensively, we have most of our players back, so they have the abilities. It’s just a matter of putting it together. Allison Klei had a fantastic game in the middle for us today. She created the opportunity that we scored the goal on, and a couple other opportunities down there too.
”Unfortunately with the injuries, I think we’re a little slow getting out of the gates this year,” he added. “Last year, it was somewhat of a historical, magical season, but I think we’ll get there. I think if we get some of these girls back to play, we’ll get to where we want to be.”
Hun last year struggled to an 0-7 start with a team that had just one senior. But after some growing pains they came on strong to make the Prep A final.
”We definitely aim for the same goals every year — winning MAPLs, winning states, beating Pennington,” Maziarz said. “Tthat would always be great. We have a lot of great players that came in this year — a lot of freshmen and underclassmen. They’re definitely trying to step up and work hard for the team. A lot of freshmen are starting, and I think it’s good because we have a lot of skilled and talented players. We’re all trying to get to know each other. I think we’re coming together now.”
Maziarz is one of the veterans who is trying to keep the Raiders moving forward. She has used her experience to guide the younger players. Being a captain last year helped to groom her for the role again this year.
”I kind of know what the girls like and how to treat them on the field,” Maziarz said. “I know when they’re down on themselves now, if they need constructive criticism, say it in a kind way. It’s different for each player. I got to know them. Even when got down, 1-0, I tried to build them up, and not let them get down on themselves.”
The comeback win is important for the mentality of the Raiders. They have seen steady improvement through their early weeks.
”I just felt like it’s been building and building,” Hallac said. “The first game, we saw some good things, then second game more and more, and the first half (Thursday), I thought it was the best half of soccer we played all year. I felt pretty good.
”I thought our defense today was unbelievable,” she added. “They were so solid, and that has to be a key for us going forward and finishing our chances, just taking advantage of every opportunity, exploiting the other team’s mistakes, and taking care of the ball. We were losing possession too much our first two games. I thought we did a much better job of being strong on the ball today and taking care of the ball.”
The Raiders put together good defense with some timely finishes at the other end to secure a win over a PDS team that is well regarded. It’s just the sort of win that Maziarz and the Raiders were looking for to start a streak.
”It’s the beginning,” Maziarz said. “I think it’s good to get a win under our belt. It’s definitely confidence building. We know how each other are going to play. I thought we played really well today, so that’s another confidence builder.”