Vikings, PB return many starters; Panthers lose 6

By Mike Zummo
Posted 9/7/22

The area’s girls’ soccer team gained a bit of experience last year with most of them willing to improve on last year’s success.

Just a few months after winning a Section 9 Class …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Vikings, PB return many starters; Panthers lose 6

Posted

The area’s girls’ soccer team gained a bit of experience last year with most of them willing to improve on last year’s success.

Just a few months after winning a Section 9 Class AA championship during the spring COVID-19 girls’ soccer season, the Valley Central Vikings saw their quest to repeat as champions end at the hands of the team they beat to win their own title.

A loss to the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders ended their season and ended the high school careers of Viking players Kyrah Kelly, Marley Petersen, and Olivia Welcome.

The Vikings will return plenty of key players, such as Mackenzie Delmonico, Riley Schmidt, Samantha Setteducato, Ella Brown, Riley Lewis, Julia Capicchioni, Grace Del Pilar, Bianca Ricciuto and goalkeeper Grace Suchy.

Third-year coach Jon Walsh also will welcome newcomers Hannah Stahl, Kelly Schmidt, Cailin Swart and Lorena Rivera.

“We’re looking forward to developing our team over the course of the season,” Walsh said.
While the Vikings saw their season ended by the Crusaders, they ended the 2021 season for Pine Bush in the Section 9 Class A quarterfinals.
Pine Bush, which lost Kymorah Boddie, Angelina Cardone and Alicia Kretschmer, will look to compete for an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 title with the Vikings, the Warwick Wildcats and the Washingtonville Wizards, who jumped to Class AA this season.

Pine Bush has gained valuable experience during the last two seasons and may be ready to make the jump to the next level behind returning players Ava Boffalo, Emma Boffalo, Gianna Conklin, Katie Cragan, Grace Druke, Taylor Hoehmann, Deirdre Meberg, Kileigh Smykla and Morgan Tubbs.

“We want to build on our experience from the postseason last year and use that to help us play meaningful games in October and November,” Pine Bush coach Dan Conley said.

Sophia Licardi, Leah Meberg and Caroline Nigro will join the team.

But while Pine Bush may look young on paper, most of them have at least one varsity season under their belt.

“We are hoping that experience will help us take the next step and win games in the sectional tournament,” Conley said. “We have a very small senior class this year, so we are hoping this group of underclassmen will have a lot of success over the next few years.”

The Wallkill Panthers lost six seniors from last year’s team, which was eliminated from the Section 9 Class A quarterfinals by the Saugerties Sawyers, who went on to up-end the top-seeded Washingtonville Wizards.