GUILDERLAND — Injuries have added to the challenges the Guilderland girls’ soccer team will face this season.

The Lady Dutch have been without four experienced players in the pre-season and Guilderland Coach Barb Newton is not sure when they will be able to reach their full potential.
"We have an injury situation to a couple of seniors and a couple of sophomores," Newton said. "Physically we are behind, which will translate to other parts of the game. Decision making during practice is behind because we’re not in shape."

The Dutch are missing sophomores Danielle Tetreault and Amanda Best. The two saw considerable playing time as ninth-graders last year and Newton was expecting great things from them this year.
"They are two of the top players on the team," Newton said. "They’ve been injured since day one. They were going to have a big impact on the team."

Devon Rosenberry and Lynn Tran have also been injured throughout the pre-season. Both were key members of the defense last season.
"Devon Rosenberry seems to be on the way back," Newton said. "Lynn Tran has a quad pull and issues with her foot. I’m not sure when they will be 100 percent."

The Dutch have 19 players on this year’s roster. Eleven of the players are returning from last year’s team.
"We graduated a lot of players," Newton said. "Out of the returners, four are injured. Seven of them saw quite a bit of playing time."

Graduated from last year’s team are captains Bianca Germain, Kayla Best, and Jen Mihok. Taylor Stringer, Krystal Myers, Kaitlyn Gescedi, Cristina Rodgriguez, and Sam Ruppenthal also graduated.

On Tuesday, Newton said she would get a better idea of what she has this year after a scrimmage on Wednesday.
"I’m very concerned about the defense," Newton said. "I’m not sure of the defense. When Devon Rosenberry comes back, that will help out quite a bit. I’ll be putting her at sweeper."

Kate Murdock will also be a key player for the Dutch this season.
"She is one of our most fit players," Newton said. "She will play a lot on defense. She plays with a lot of passion."

Junior Hannah Rosen will return at outside halfback and can be a playmaker for the Lady Dutch.
"She has an awesome cross," Newton said of Rosen’s passing ability. "We need her to score double-digit in goals. We have no goal scorer. I hope Hannah will take on that responsibility. She has a great shot."

Jackie DeLuise will be returning at forward. She provided the Dutch with some offense last year.
"She plays with a lot of heart," Newton said. "She gives a non-stop effort. What we need from her is to become more technically sound, to make better decisions."

Julie Malkowski returns to play goalie.
"She played a lot in goal last year," Newton said. "I’m hoping she takes it more serious in leading the defense."

Rhea Rubin is a newcomer to the varsity whom Newton says could do good things.
"She brings more speed," Newton said of the sophomore. "That’s something we need. We’ll be playing a lot of defense and in the midfield. She has solid skills."

Junior Sarah Heller will be competing for playing time in the goal, Newton said.
"She is fearless in that position," the coach said.

Fighting for everything

The Lady Dutch open the season against Shaker on Sept. 8. They will get a test this weekend as they play in the Shen Scramble at Shenendehowa High School.
"We’ll play some top teams," Newton said. "We’ll be extremely tested up there. We’ll be playing some teams from out of our section that are pretty good."

Newton is not sure where all the pieces of her team will fit, but one thing she knows is that she does not have a lot of size.
"We are a small team," Newton said. "It will affect every game for us. We need to get the team 100 percent. Even then, we’ll be fighting for everything."

And the Lady Dutch will have to fight against some bigger players.
"Last year, we had pretty good size," Newton said. "Girls are five-nine or more now. We average five-five. Whoever we play, the girls will be five inches taller. It will be a struggle fighting for the ball."

Newton hopes that her players will stand up to the struggles they will face this fall.
"We’ll be fighting for everything," she said. "It will not come easy for us. It’s going to be a challenging year."