MANCHESTER – In the wake of a disappointing loss, it can be hard to look ahead, but for the Winnacunnet High School girls soccer team Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Pinkerton Academy in the Division I championship, has the potential to be just a bump in the road.
The Warriors boast a young team with eight starters returning and a promising freshman class next fall, and despite the dim feelings after Saturday’s game, the future is bright.
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“I think we’ll definitely remember this moment, and we’ll come back even stronger,” said freshman forward Emma Somerville.
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Winnacunnet coach Nick O’Brien doesn’t feel like his team overachieved this seasonn, but they were successful because of the effort they put in from the first day of practice.
“Their work ethic (stood out), working since June to try to get to this point,” O’Brien said. “This one stings and hopefully it’s a good learning lesson for those who are returning.”
Winnacunnet notched 15 shutouts this season, including three in the playoffs prior to Saturday’s championship game, while amassing a 16-2-2 record on the season.
Those are numbers that are often reserved for senior-led teams. The Warriors return sophomore starting goalie Julianne Banks, as well as key offensive cogs like junior Izzy Needham, who scored Winnacunnet’s lone goal against Pinkerton, sophomore standout Isla Christie, among others.
“I think we have amazing players coming in next year,” Somerville said. “We have even more hope knowing that over the summer we’ll work to get stronger as a group. I have a lot of hope for us next year.”
The Warriors will lose starting midfielders Maitri Clifford and Liana Pacheco as well as starting defender Emmy Granger to graduation, but O’Brien said any future success the team may have will reflect on this year’s senior group, which also included Teagan Rooney, Sydney Poplawski, Anna Burns, Julia Merrick and Sarah Rademacher.
“The seniors, they left a heck of a legacy for us,” O’Brien said. “It’s the first time we’ve been here since 1986, so you’ve got to give it to the seniors.”
O’Brien added that his returning players will have to remember what it took to get to the Division I championship this year and use that to drive them next year.
“Nothing’s given,” he said. “Everything’s earned, and that’s why we’re here. Unfortunately, we came up short, but the whole body of work was incredible.”
That is also what it will take for this strong, young Warriors team to get back to the championship next year, and hopefully get that one last win.
