With plenty of experience and heaps of talent, 2022 figures to be a solid year for the Harrison girls soccer team. But head coach Jon-Erik Zappala knows full well that ability will only take a team so far; the rest comes down to chemistry. 

Early signs have been promising for the Huskies, however, as they look to run through a gauntlet of top opposition and emerge as a top Class A team this fall.

The Huskies return 10 players from a team that finished with a 10-6-3 record last year, something that Zappala said bodes well for his squad as the season gets underway. 

“We have these girls that are now upperclassmen, they’re taking on that new role of leadership,” he said. “And it’s on them to help build that cohesive dynamic between some others that may be coming up to varsity for the first time this year.”

Well-balanced on paper, Harrison has key returnees all over the field, from a midfield unit that includes Mia Boda and Josie Fisher—who missed last season due to an injury— and a defensive grouping led by Casey Curow and Parker Yeats.

But the Huskies should truly shine offensively, where they bring back standouts Sophia Miller and Ava Cefaloni. In 2021, Cefaloni emerged as a top-flight scoring threat, finishing second in all of Section I in goals scored. 

Zappala said that while Cefaloni might face added attention from opposing defenses this year, that should only serve to create opportunities for the rest of the Huskies attackers. 

“Ava does really well with pressure,” said Zappala.  “If a coach wants to mark up on her as part of their game plan, I’m very confident that the rest of our offense to take advantage of that situation.”

The Huskies will use the last few days of the preseason to nurture team bonding—taking a team trip over the weekend to build camaraderie—but will hit the ground running this week, opening up with a tilt against Somers on Aug. 31 before squaring off against Albertus Magnus on Sept. 2. 

The Falcons and Tuskers are two perennial powers, and Zappala said that his team should find out at lot about itself with two marquee matchups to start the season.  

“Right off the bat, we want to say ‘Look, this is what we need to be able to do,’” said Zappala. “This is going to give the players and opportunity to adjust within themselves in order to help the team succeed.”