The Joel Barlow High girls varsity soccer team will set its sights higher than just qualifying post-season play in the 2024 season. The Falcons not only hope to gain a higher seed and a home-field advantage or two, they would also like some wins for their efforts. To accomplish this, they must first maximize the talent they have.
“A couple of home games would be nice,” said head coach Ben Weiss, whose team started practice on Aug. 19. “You have to take care of some wins.”
A couple of pre-season scrimmages against the likes of Stamford and Ridgefield have helped them get ready. With 23 girls on the varsity, the Falcons will have a number of players fighting for 11 starting positions.
“It’s kind of pretty even all-around,” said Weiss. “Being that deep is going to be helpful, I think.”
The Falcons return a number of experienced players from last season’s squad, which finished at 6-7-2 overall. That team qualified for the South-West Conference tournament as the eighth and final seed but lost in the first round to top-seeded, eventual champ Notre Dame of Fairfield.
Barlow also made the state tournament, losing in the first round to East Catholic of Manchester. It also graduated a few key players since then, including midfielders Keira Gillon and Mary Janny, both All-Patriot Division selections. Barlow will also have to replace goalie Gianna Oliveri
and Jenna Najjar (All-SWC honorable mention).
To help fill these holes, Barlow will count on a contingent of senior players with varsity experience. These include Caroline Beihl, Lauren Klein-Wassink (All-Patriot), Allie Ogden, Agnes Davis, Gabby Boehlert and Sophia Boehlert. This will bring some experience up front, in
the midfield and on defense.
A number of juniors will also see significant varsity action, including Amelia Winter (All-SWC). Olivia Taylor and Berkeley Hanson are also back. A candidate for goalie is sophomore Sophia Bianco. Two freshmen who could see varsity time are Olivia DiBlasi, a forward, and Cecilia Ronner, who is capable of playing multiple positions, according to Weiss.
Once again, Weiss expects the Falcons will face some formidable opponents in the SWC, such as Notre Dame and Brookfield, two finalists last season. Newtown, Masuk and Weston could also be strong, and other teams could prove to be surprises. He hopes his team will be in the hunt as well.
“I’m pretty positive about this year,” he said. “I think we have a lot of potential.”
Barlow takes on Bunnell on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Mastroni Field in Stratford after dropping its home opener to Masuk 3-0.
