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Valley Girls’ Soccer Defeats Morgan, Loses to H-K

The Valley Regional girls' soccer squad is playing out the final games of the regular season and gearing up for the postseason. With a pair of games last week, and just one more regular season contest to go, the Warriors are in a pretty strong position headed into the postseason tournaments. Last week, Valley earned another Shoreline Conference victory against Morgan by a score of 4-1 before dropping a 5-2 game to Haddam-Killingworth later on the slate.

Right now, Head Coach Lauren MacDonald and her squad are focused on finishing the season strong and potentially securing a home game in the Shoreline Conference Tournament. As it stands, the Warriors have already qualified for the tourney, but a win over Coginchaug in the final game of the year will secure a home contest.

"We haven't played them yet, but it should be a good game for us. Looking at the games we've each played, we have similar results against the same opponents so it should be a good game. We know that we're getting the best Shoreline teams have to offer," MacDonald said. "It's a matter of what team shows up ready to play. I think everyone is ready to put behind the regular season, and we want to show the Shoreline what Valley is made of."

On Oct. 22, Valley showed Morgan its best with a 4-1 home victory over the Huskies on Senior Night. The Warriors overpowered Morgan with three consecutive goals before the Huskies could muster one. Valley took a 2-0 lead after the first half, and then outscored Morgan 2-1 in the second half for the 4-1 final.

Ava Duval scored in the seventh minute, and 15 minutes later Bitzy Klomp picked up the Warriors' second goal. After the half, senior captain Sam Calamari scored in the 60th minute to go up 3-0, then three minutes later Morgan trimmed it back to a two-goal advantage. In the 67th minute, Maddie Costello brought the score to its 4-1 final.

Coach MacDonald is always pleased with a win, but a Senior Night victory is always extra special.

"That was our Senior Night, and that was a huge game. Our seniors always want to beat Morgan. It was nice to come out on top in that spot," MacDonald said. "That win also counted toward our Shoreline record, and we are in third. If we win against Coginchaug, we'll have a home game in the tournament, and that would be really nice."

Just as in the bulk of the season, Valley received some major contributions from Duval and Calamari in the win versus Morgan. The pair have tremendous chemistry and work off each other very well. Duval has poured it on with 22 goals on the season to go with seven assists, while Calamari has notched eight goals and 22 assists. Those similar numbers are no coincidence according to MacDonald.

"Sam and Ava, they haven't slowed down at all. They've been playing together since they were young, so they really work off of each other," said MacDonald. "The amount of goals that Ava has is nearly the same amount of assists that Sam has and vice versa."

The Warriors also continue to receive the steady leadership from fellow senior captain Caroline Baldwin. While Baldwin isn't the type of explosive scorer that Calamari is, she has a huge impact on the game regardless.

"This week, I had Caroline playing three different positions," said MacDonald. "She wants to win so bad for her team. She's had such a huge presence in every play this season. She's been so awesome."

Similar to Baldwin, senior defender Jeni Caulfield keeps playing steadily in the backfield and beyond. Between Caulfield, Baldwin, and Costello, Coach MacDonald has had several options to throw at opponents to break down their game plans.

"We've been playing a bit with the system in the back figuring out what works. We are trying to interchange the players in the midfield and backfield," MacDonald said. "On the back line, they have to work hard to protect [goalie Lexi Dellarocco]. When we're playing teams that pressure us, I would swap Maddie Costello and Caroline a few times. I moved Jeni up to the midfield the other day, too."

Costello has also started to turn it on late in the season with a couple of goals to her credit in the past few games.

"Maddie's been great. She's another person I can put any where because she has that speed like Jeni," MacDonald said. "She ended up scoring two goals. It's nice that I can use her in different positions. She scores more off corners when she runs through the ball, and it just goes into the back of the net."

Coach MacDonald has found the success the Warriors have had this season incredibly rewarding. MacDonald has had a taste of winning before, but being a head coach is a different experience for her.

"I think our success comes from [assistant coach Megan Perkins] and I having a good relationship with the girls. Everything we do is for a purpose, and the girls understand that," said MacDonald. "It's great to win as a player, but it's more special to win as a coach. I enjoy it more winning as a coach because of how much it means to the girls."