By Joseph Staszewski
Veteran teams always talk of ending their careers on a high note. St. Francis Prep has done more than talk so far this season.
The Terriers continued their strong play with a 2-0 victory over Our Lady of Mercy in CHSAA Nassau/Suffolk girls’ soccer Tuesday at Fort Totten. St. Francis Prep, which has 10 seniors on its roster, is off to a 6-2-0 start. Its only losses as of Tuesday’s game were to league powers St. Anthony’s and St. John the Baptist.
“This year we were all talking about going out with a big bang,” SFP senior forward Angela Carredu said.
For them it means at least reaching the semifinals in one of the toughest leagues in the tri-state area. It is something the seniors haven’t done during their careers. St. Francis Prep believes this is its best chance.
Carredu, Sophia DeLeon Teresa Colleti, Tara Ferraris and goalie Samantha Cobitc were all on the team as freshmen. The Terriers already have a 3-1 win over Sacred Heart, which beat them in the quarterfinals last season. It’s that victory that really got them buying into the possibilities.
“We played with them more. We scored more goals,” junior sweeper Autumn Brown said. “We really opened up our offense in a way that we didn’t before.”
Some of that has to do with moving Carredu from defender to forward. She gives opposing defenses someone else to be concerned with other than DeLeon and the two have formed a great tandem. Carredu scored the first goal against Our Lady of Mercy off a pass from Stephanie Blaskovic in the 48th minute. She later assisted on a DeLeon score 10 minutes later. St. Francis Prep hasn’t been shut out this season.
“I don’t care who comes up next year. It doesn’t matter to me. We are losing the core players, especially the two forwards,” Terriers coach John Jenkins said. “I don’t know how you are going to get that again. No one has been able to actually stop them.”
The Terriers in their wins, on the other hand, have quieted opponents’ attacks, not allowing more than a goal in those contests. Blaskovic and her twin sister Sabrina have done a good job controlling the midfield, senior Brittany Esposito is a strong defender and Cobotic is oneof the league’s top goalies.
St. Francis Prep’s most dynamic force, however, is the athletic Brown. She is a combination of strength and speed that allows her to push up on offense without losing her effectiveness on defense.
“There is nobody like her,” Jenkins said. “She is the only one I know who can cover corner to corner. Nobody else can do that.”
This Terriers group believes it is deep and talented enough finally to take the next step.
“We are doing it for each other,” Carredu said.
