SWAMPSCOTT — Come Monday – not to be confused with the Jimmy Buffett song – Swampscott’s girls soccer team will be putting in preseason work. After a successful 2023 season, the Big Blue look to have similar success under second-year coach Jaymie Caponigro.
Swampscott went 9-6-5 with a postseason win against Falmouth (2-0 final) before exiting in the Round of 32 (0-1 final) to Cardinal Spellman. Looking back at her first year, Caponigro thought it went well.
“Looking at our first year, in a lot of ways, we were very successful. Hopefully, we can continue to build off that and continue to build off the environment we have,” Caponigro said. “I think having goals of always trying to make the tournament and have a winning record are great, but I think for this year and as a program, what we’d really love to do is just always find a way to compete.”
The Big Blue lost six seniors to graduation, including two captains in Victoria Quagrello and Jesse Ford. But Caponigro said all of her former seniors made a lasting impression on the current team that sports eight sophomores, five juniors, and one senior.
“It’s always tough to replace your seniors. It doesn’t feel real sometimes when you go back and they’re not there, but just because they’re not part of the team, what they did in their careers and the legacies that they built are everlasting,” Caponigro said. “It was beneficial to our younger players because it gave them someone to look up to and to try and fill in their shoes.”
Despite being young last year, the team played well above its age and was competitive from beginning to end – something Caponigro hopes to see again this fall.
“It’s a blessing and a curse to be on the younger side, but age is just a number. We’re lucky that the majority of our returning varsity players have had that experience at the varsity level, and gaining that experience helps us overall as a program and as a team,” Caponigro said. “They’ve been training and working hard in the offseason, and they’re ready to build off where they ended last year.”
Swampscott returns one of last season’s top goal-scorers in the Northeastern Conference in Greta Siefken. The sniper registered 15 goals and six assists as a freshman.
“I’m excited to see her growth from last year and where that takes her this year. She’s a great competitor. Anywhere you play her on the field, she’s going to give it her all,” Caponigro said.
In addition to Siefken, there are more players to watch out for, according to Caponigro.
“It’s no secret to anyone in our conference that we had a young group last year and are sophomores this year,” Caponigro said. “I’m excited to see their class grow and see what they can accomplish. There’s Greta returning. We have our goalkeeper Eve Byrne coming back, so I’m excited to see what she can do. We have our midfielders and defenders like Sam Ward and Fiona Keaney, and we’re really excited to see what they can do as juniors. I’m excited to see their development and how they matured in the offseason.”
Preseason is just days away and the first game of the season is on September 4, when the Big Blue host Saugus.
