An overtime loss in the South, Group 2 sectional semi-finals to eventual champion Point Pleasant Boro has not sat well with the girl’s soccer team since last year ended.
In fact, the Pirates have used that game as a teaching point during pre-season with the 2016 campaign just days away.
Head coach Matt Digney is happy with his team’s balanced attack so far through pre-season and hopes it carries over into the regular season.
“It’s tough to stay at this point what our strengths or weaknesses are. I’m pleased with the balance we have this year. Some players who graduated last year, did certain things very, very well. If I don’t have a player who can do that this year, I will have to tweak and change things up a little bit.”
Digney was pleasantly surprised with the fitness level his players came into came with this year, allowing him to do a little more coaching earlier compared to previous years.
“A lot of camps we use the first couple weeks to get fit. After the first two or three days I realized I had a team that was pretty fit. We were able to focus on some other things a lot more.”
“We have been working on style of play and chemistry. It’s been a little bit of a different camp. I feel like I’ve been able to coach more than in the past. They did a good job of coming into camp in shape already.”
Digney has also been having Varsity and JV practice together for the first time this deep into the pre-season.
“From number one to our very last player in terms of ability, we are very close. There aren’t major dropoffs in terms of talent. Our JV and varsity have been practicing together every day for the past two weeks. I’ve never done that before. I usually separate the teams a week and a half in. We’ve been able to practice together, which makes for better competition. The younger players get to learn more by watching the older players. It’s been an enjoyable camp.”
The Pirates have played a very tough pre-season schedule, which will carryover into the regular season.
“We tied Eastern 0-0 and then got two goals late against Ocean City, which can be attributed to our fitness,” Digney said. “We beat Glassboro 7-0. You might have a couple games where you don’t score and then the doors open. Confidence is a major factor.”
When it comes to using last year’s overtime playoff loss to Point Pleasant Boro as a teaching point, Digney explained that you have to play in those types of games to know what they are like.
“The experience is sometimes more important than the skill. You don’t know what a game is like until you play it. You can only learn it from living it. If we got into a similar situation this year, I’d hope we would respond much better this year.”
One of the strengths of the 2015 team was its depth. Digney believes 2016 will be no different.
“We were able to rotate players in and out last year. I would think that we’re going to be similar this year. For the most part, if you need two minutes or 20 minutes, you’re going to get a good result so long as we do everything right and stay healthy.”
The Pirates open the 2016 season with a two-game tournament hosted by Williamstown this Friday and Saturday. The Pirates will play Williamstown to open the season and then Kingsway on Saturday.
“Williamstown we’ve never played. Kingsway we’ve scrimmaged before, but never played in the regular season,” Digney said. “We could have very easily kept it local and simple, but I want to see where we stand getting out the door.”
“I like this team. I feel comfortable and confident with them. It could be a tough weekend for us, but at least we will get better. Our regular schedule is tough, but when you look at the long run and get to the playoffs, it helps us.”
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