LYNN — Monday marked day one of Lynn Classical’s girls soccer team being back out on Manning Field. Under the direction of Jessica Gambale, who’s entering her third season as head coach, the Lady Rams are getting ready for their all-important Sept. 3 opener.
Due to all of the demanded running in soccer, coming into the preseason in shape is quite beneficial. Luckily for the Lady Rams, Gambale said her team has returned in great shape.
“The girls have come in ready to work. They’ve come in shape, which is always good to see,” she said. “We pretty much have our whole team returning. We only graduated a few seniors.”
Speaking of running, it’s the midfielders who tend to cover the most distance in a soccer game. Gambale believes it will be a strength of her team.
“I think our strength will be in our midfield. We have a very fit group of girls who are ready to run up and down the field,” she said.
The Lady Rams graduated a handful of seniors, including goalie Lauren Wilson and defensive standout Rachel Dana.
But this year, Gambale has her new netminder, Maegan Baker, ready to go.
“She played on the basketball team and boys lacrosse team in the past,” Gambale said. “She’s taking on the role of being our goalie.”
The Lady Rams have a few scrimmages lined up to polish off some things. When asked what she’s going to be looking for, Gambale pointed to the defensive line and, of course, communication.
“We want to try some different girls at center defense, versus outside defense and outside mid to see what the best combination is,” she said. “That’s not locked in yet, but it’s something I’m going to be focusing on during our scrimmages to determine what our best defensive line will be.”
“Something we’ve always, kind of, lacked is our in-game, on-the-field communication. It’s something I’m always looking for from our upperclassmen and returning players to step up and take a leadership role on the field, and help dictate to their teammates in a positive way of what they should be doing,” Gambale said. “Looking at film from previous years, it looks like beautiful ping-pong soccer when you can see the girls talking and directing. Knowing they’re capable of it, I’m just excited to see who’s going to take on that role this year.”
Classical will be led by senior captains Tatiana Lazo, Kaydee Rouse, Gianna Parker, and Mea Papazoglou, according to Gambale.
Papazoglou played a lot last season as a goalie after Wilson got hurt. Papazoglou will move back to playing striker, where she excelled during her freshman and sophomore years.
“I’m excited for her comeback season as a striker. She took on the role of goalie last year after not having one after Lauren got hurt. She was one of our top scorers,” Gambale said. “I’m excited to have that weapon back… Gianna Parker and Mea always had good chemistry together during their underclassmen years, so it’ll be great to reunite them this season,” Gambale said.
The Lady Rams take on Malden Catholic and Haverhill in a jamboree on Sunday before scrimmaging Gloucester and Essex Tech to end the preseason. The first regular season game is during the Lynn City Series when Classical takes on Lynn Tech on Sept. 3 at 4:30 p.m.
