ATHLETES IN SHORTS

The Highland Park varsity girls soccer team went into the Greater Middlesex Conference tournament October 16th with a 5-4-1 record, a first-round bye, and somewhat nicked up. "We've had a lot of injuries," said head coach Chris Ruckdeschel. "We're using the time to prepare and recover." Senior forward Isabel Sherrell returned after missing 3 weeks with a sprained ankle."She is a big part of our offense," said the coach.

Despite the 3-1 home loss to Cardinal McCarrick in the second round, there is a great deal of pride on the team. Earlier this season, the Owls came back from a 2-0 deficit late on Leah Salkin's hat trick to edge their nemesis Middlesex by 3-2."When we beat Middlesex we were ranked as high as #10 in the county," said Ruckdeschel.

Other players have played a huge role. Freshman stopper Charlotte Feingold "is small in stature but plays with a big heart," said the caoch. "It is amazing that she plays twice the size against the toughest players, but plays mistake-free soccer." Another freshman that has come through is keeper Ashley Lozada, who "has been expected to learn quickly and has been improving each day."

Their defense is led by sophomore Sania Holloway, seniors Natasha Kallman and Sacha Lugo."They have been a formidable force. When we miss one or two of these players, it's not the same team," said Ruckdeschel.

The squad's play has been uneven this season at times."The girls are very streaky. We were on a high after the tremendous win against Middlesex. The [first] loss against McCarrick [October 3rd] brought us back down to earth."

Ruckdeschel gives credit to his assistant coach Lori Szentgyorgyi, who has been an assistant coach under Ruckdeschel for six seasons."Lori has been a fixture for the team. The team couldn't be where they are without her."

- Howard Princz

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