VOORHEESVILLE — After Tuesday’s scrimmage, Joe Santos, the varsity soccer coach for the Voorheesville girls was a little disappointed in his team.

He was disappointed because his players didn’t perform in the second half with the experience and the talent that they possess.
"I expected that out of new players," Santos said, "not out of veteran players. But I explained to the girls that this was just a scrimmage game. They do a lot of running by putting themselves out of position and by giving their opponents a lot of room."

Because of injuries to key players last year, a few players got experience at the end of the season.
"The way we finished the season," Santos said, "all 11 players on the field return. I looked out there and saw that all the kids played a lot. Out of all the returners, we do have one that is injured, and that hurts. But McKenzie [Conroy] played a lot and so did Monique Bidell. The 11 people that are back are all capable of doing good things."

There are 16 players on this year’s team — seven of them are seniors.
"It’s good to have seven seniors this year," Santos said. "But next year it will be hard to replace that many players. But I told the junior-varsity players that it is a big opportunity to step up and play here. I think it’s the first time that I will lose that many starting players.

Santos said that the positions are pretty much filled and are looking pretty good.
"The forwards are strong, the midfield is strong, and we’ll be strong in the back," the coach said. "The players that come in to play off the bench can come in and play well."

The Lady Blackbirds will also be strong in the goal as junior Rose Skladanuk gained experience last year filling in for an injured Eva Levingrub, who has now graduated.

Brittany Holcomb played in goal in the second half of the scrimmage as Skladanuk played in the field.
"Brittany has done well," Santos said Tuesday. "She had a lot of work today, but she is an athlete. She has good instincts and good hands. She can come in and help us. We had two or three people volunteer to play because we don’t have one that is just a goalie. It’s great Brittany volunteered, she’s done very well."

Dictating play

Santos said that his players have the physical skills to play well but need to work on another aspect of the game.
"The girls have been there," the coach said. "They need to think of things before they happen and they need to dictate play. It’s not physically, but mentally. They have to know where to play the ball, wider and not in the middle like they did in the second half."

But, Santos said, that the season can be a really good one. The players just need to keep learning and playing to their potential.
"It will be an exciting season," he said on Tuesday. "We played yesterday, so we are a bit tired. I told them to rest next to their opponent not far from them and then have to run back when tackling them. They really run themselves into the ground."

The Blackbirds should be able to move on from Tuesday’s scrimmage as they prepare to open the season on Wednesday at home against Holy Names.
"I’m glad that this was just a practice game," Santos said. "I know we can play tremendously better than this. I expect a lot more."

After the season opener on Wednesday, the Lady Blackbirds will play at Ravena on Tuesday and at Schalmont on Thursday.