Senior captain Nora Manning fights for the ball against Hingham. / Photo by: Sue Moss
The girls’ soccer team is focused on improving daily.
For a program that has qualified for 21 straight state tournaments, you would likely assume the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer team sets the bar high.
Or maybe not?
“Honesty, we haven’t talked about any of it,” said 26-year head David Floeck when asked about his club’s goals. “Not to sound cliché, but we’re just trying to get better every day.”
So far that’s what they’ve done. Following a 3-1 start to the season — with their only loss coming against Plymouth North — W-H played to a 2-2 draw against unbeaten Hingham on Monday, Sept. 20 at Dennis M. O’Brien Field.
“I don’t think we’ve been playing as well as we’re capable of playing,” said Floeck, whose Panthers finished 9-2-2 last season. “I thought tonight our intensity was on a different level than it had been all season and that’s what we need to compete. We can’t play the Hinghams or Plymouths without this type of intensity level.”
Senior captain Olivia Borgen put the Panthers in front 2-1 early in the second half with her second goal of the night — this one on a penalty kick.
“We need her,” Floeck said of Borgen, who is committed to play at Penn State. “She is the engine that makes us go.”
That’s where it stood until four minutes remaining when the Harborwomen, who ended the Panthers’ season last year in the Patriot Cup semifinals, knotted it up at two apiece.
“When you get that close you’re definitely hoping to squeak one out,” Floeck said. “But it was another Whitman-Hanson Hingham battle.”
It was the first one for W-H freshmen goalkeeper Ava Patete, who made 13 saves to keep the Harborwomen at bay.
“This was a huge night for her,” Floeck said. “Neither goal was anything she could have done [to prevent]. She made a ton of saves tonight and more importantly in an atmosphere with two great teams going at it, big crowd cheering, the pressure of the game and she really did a phenomenal job.”
Senior backs Megan Bizier and Skylar Jordan and classmate Ava Melia, who is headed to play at Bryant University, locked down the backend.
As for the offense, junior Kayla Cassidy, Stonehill-bound senior captain Nora Manning and classmate Jenna Lindstrom will chip in plenty this season.
The Panthers are back in action Friday, Sept. 24 at 3:30 p.m. on the road against Silver Lake.
“We have to keep it going,” Floeck said. “And if we do, we think we can get on to something special and in those (league title and state title) conversations.”