Both Newburgh Free Academy soccer seasons came to similar ends last season.

Both the boys’ and girls’ teams won exciting Section 9 Class AA semifinal games before seeing their seasons end in the championship game.

The girls’ soccer team came of age in 2021 when after several tough seasons with young teams, the Goldbacks ran an 11-5-2 record on the way to their Section 9 finalist season.

They had avenged previous losses to the Warwick Wildcats by eliminating them in penalty kicks after 100 minutes of 2-2 soccer.

However, several key players from that team won’t be returning after graduating in June. Sarai Rodriguez is off to St. Thomas Aquinas, and defender Bryanna Foti is playing at Dominican. Ava Morrill is playing at SUNY Maritime, while Ava Esposito and Mikayla Podlas also have graduated.

However, Newburgh is returning plenty of offense. Marina Parodo, who scored 20 goals and had six assists, and a third-team all-state player, returns for her junior season. Riley Frederick, who scored six goals and 15 assists, and Damaris Moran, who had seven goals, also will return to the lineup for Newburgh. Julia Leonard, Angela Holness and Emily Giron also return to the pitch.

The Goldbacks also will return goalkeeper Taryn Judson, who averaged 1.34 goals against in 2021.

“Building off last year’s success, we look to improve our record against the best teams in Section 9,” Newburgh girls’ coach Dave Doulin said.

It was the best teams that gave the Goldbacks trouble last year, as three of their five losses were to the Crusaders. Their other two were to the Wildcats.

“We have a strong group returning but have spots to fill after losing a great senior class last season,” Doulin said.

Boys
The boys’ team battled to an 8-8 record on their way to the sectional championship game. They got there mostly on the back of All-American Javier Rodriguez, through which the Goldbacks’ offense flowed.

The Goldbacks have also lost Anthony Rodriguez and Fredy Rios.

They get back Steven Hernandez, Tudor Wolfson, Andrew Pinheiro, Javier Ramos and goalkeeper Andreas Gillmeier. They’ll be joined by new forwards Yensel Granados and Olvin Flores, and midfielders Jordy Moran and Jose Torres.

As every year, the Goldbacks enter the preseason with hopes of being competitive in Section 9 Class AA league, and their sights are set on the Section 9 Class AA championship.

“We have a talented nucleus returning,” Newburgh boys’ coach Matt Iorlano said. “If we can develop and improve throughout the season, I honestly feel as though we can compete for the Section 9 championship.”