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12/16/2014 11:00 PMNola Neri prides herself on being a think-first defender on the soccer field and that mentality helped her and the rest of the Morgan Huskies flex both their brain and brawn as a sharp defensive unit this fall.
The junior central defender began the sport back in 1st grade and was hooked from the start. In her third campaign at Morgan, Nola garnered Second Team All-Shoreline honors while being voted the team MVP as she led the Huskies' defense to allow only 10 goals in 20 contests, in addition to permitting just 5.5 shots on goal per game en route to the top seed in the Shoreline Conference Tournament and a run to the Class S State Tournament quarterfinals.
"To win both those awards meant a lot because I try to always do the best I can to help the team. It was also nice to see my other teammates get awards, too, and to be named the MVP was great because everyone voted on it," says the three-year starter, who also fences for the Huskies and runs the 200, 400, 4x100, and 4x400 events in outdoor track. "In 1-on-1 defense, I mostly do well by delaying the person on offense and just seeing what they do. I also don't dive to them because then they can just sprint past you. It's just waiting, thinking, and not over-jumping."
Huskies' Head Coach Megan Kilbride explains that Nola knows how to keep calm with the ball on either side of the field.
"Nola was our most consistent 1-on-1 defender and had much success as our sweeper back this season, which directly contributed to our team's success and only giving up 10 goals in 20 games. Nola makes very intelligent decisions in regard to how she distributes from the backfield in order to help our offense while still maintaining the integrity of our defense," says Kilbride. "Nola is the type of player that every coach wants to have on his or her team. Her work ethic, intelligence, and ability are above that of any other player on the field. Nola's ability to cover for her teammates has been such an asset for our team and very rarely do we have cause for concern with her as our last line of defense. In addition, she is also very creative offensively and not hesitant to attack from the backfield, which added a much-needed dynamic to our offensive attack. Nola has developed into one of the most notable players in the Shoreline."
Nola adds that she undertook multiple roles out on the pitch this fall, yet no matter what her responsibility was, she handled it under little duress.
"Being out in the open on defense, I can see the whole field so, verbally, my job was to tell people where to go and where to pass the ball. I also worried about clearing the ball, limiting shots on goal, and being an outlet pass on offense," Nola says. "I just had confidence with the ball at my feet and didn't rush to get rid of it. It was more of shielding the ball, looking for an open person, and not panicking."
Nola showed her stingy defensive style in Morgan's early-season victory over offensive juggernaut Old Lyme and she feels that the Huskies have the pieces in place to make her final year one filled with championship moments.
"In that Old Lyme game, they are a really good team on offense, but I felt I did really well with clearing and limiting their shots," says Nola, who thanks her parents, Eileen and Paul, along with her teammates and all of her soccer coaches through the years. "We should have a lot of confidence going into next season because we aren't losing many people and have some a lot of new players coming up. We also know now that we can beat these Shoreline teams because we did it this year. I and the seniors want to win states in our final year so we will work hard for it."