by Brianna Cabral
The soccer season ended when the girls varsity team went to Tantasqua for playoffs. They haven’t made playoffs since 2011, and the girls as well as the coaches were so proud of themselves. The 9-7-2 Hawks faced the 9-6-3 Tantasqua Warriors. But in the end the Tantasqua Warriors took home the win, 5-0.
“The team we played against was really good, so it was tough. No matter what happened, my team and the coaches were still proud of the fact that we made playoffs,” goalie Erin Campbell says.
“I’ve been to playoffs before, but never for soccer, so it was a really nerve wracking thing to be in playoffs. It sucks that we lost, but it was really awesome to even make it that far, so I think it was a good experience,” says Nadia Doherty, one of the three captains.
Coach Spencer Fortwengler thinks the playoff game was a great learning experience for the girls and has high hopes that next year they will do better.
Their season included many wins. One of the best games in the coaches’ eyes was the game against Tyngsborough when they qualified for playoffs with a “come-from-behind win.”
Doherty agrees, however, her favorite game was against Shrewsbury. “They are a good team, and we always had a tough game playing against them,” but Hudson held their own and held them 2-2 until they scored a lucky goal at the end. But throughout the whole game the girls gave a lot of effort and kept fighting.
Doherty wouldn’t have changed anything from her season. It was fun, the team played well, and they had a lot of wins.
“You can change and think after each game if we only did this or that. But you can’t allow that to overcome your long-term goals,” Fortwengler said. “We make mistakes, could have attacked with more people, or defended a little better, but as long as we all grow from each game, then we are okay.”
Varsity is losing 8 seniors, which includes two of their captains, Nadia Doherty and Sophia DiPlacido. Both captains were named All Central Mass All-Stars at the end of the season.
“We couldn’t have gotten through the season without them,” said Campbell.
The captains set goals, led the team during practices, and showed the team what they needed to focus on.
“They really helped keep the team in line and kept us working hard,” said Campbell.
Doherty says leading the team was such a privilege because they played really well, and she had an awesome group of girls to lead.
But the seniors were not the only important members on the team.
“Without a strong keeper, things can go south rather quickly. Our defense played extremely well this year, and our midfield and strikers really changed many of the games we played, but it comes down to having a general in the backfield who sees it all, and that is Erin,” said Fortwengler.
With their remaining players, they are looking forward to a good season next year. “The future looks bright for Hudson girls soccer,” Fortwengler said, “as long as each student returning does their part in off season playing and conditioning.”
