by Bea Peterson
Hoosick Falls Central School girls soccer players, their coaches and their families filled the Hoosick Falls Fire House Monday evening for the annual Girls Soccer Banquet. From modified through varsity, the coaches heaped praise on their players and expressed appreciation to the parents for their strong support of the teams and the HFCS soccer program.
JV Coach Patrick Daily had many changes in his life this year, he said. They included a new job, a new house and a new daughter. He was pleased to share JV coaching responsibilities with Lisa Ferrannini. “She is always positive, very knowledgeable and extremely talented,” he said. Ferrannini said she had worked in other schools and had never experienced the camaraderie and the parental support before that exists in the Hoosick Falls program.
The coaches had a young team this year with few returning players. They finished the season at .500 against many bigger and stronger teams. Their coaches were very proud of them for the way they played and the way they got along.
Each of the players received a certificate. Plaques were given to:
Most Improved Player of the Year – Jenny Danforth
Spirit Award – Alyssa Surdam
Defensive Player of the Year – Alexis Hagadorn
Offensive Player of the Year – Allie Martin
Junior Panther of the Year – Shelby Marsh
Varsity Awards
Varsity Coach Tom Husser thanked his wife of 30 years, Angela Husser, for her encouragement and support, especially during soccer season. He thanked Leo Surdam for his help and support. He praised his players for their team spirit and dedication and thanked the parents for their continuous support. Awards
were presented to:
Defensive Player of the Year – Carly Pine. Carly also received the Lady Panther Award, which is voted on by her teammates. She is the first HFCS player to make an All American Regional Team. She made the Wasaren first team and is a Section II All Star.
Offensive Player of the Year – Becca LaPorte
Coach’s Award recipients were Jackie Kimball and Kayla Bird.
Assistant Coach’s Award – Meghan McEachron
Rookie of the Year – Maritza Gonzalez
Always a special part of the banquet is when the seniors present gifts to their teammates. This year was no exception as much laughter accompanied the presentations.
Guest speaker, College of St. Rose Womens Soccer Coach Laurie Darling-Gutheil, said she was the first generation of women in sports to benefit from Title IX, a law that saw increased budgeting in sports for women. She said she was impressed with the spirit and support shown at the banquet.
She told the players to practice three concepts to obtain the most from their soccer careers. One – always make your individual teammates better with your help and support on and off the field. Two – your determination will enable you to do whatever your goals are, so continue to persevere.
Three – Keep a positive attitude. “You have so much to be thankful for, especially as women in sports. Keep a positive approach and remember your cup is half full.”
She spoke of her season at St. Rose this year. They were down seven players from last year and that had been a really good year. They lost their first game of the season 5-0, their largest loss in years. It was a challenging year, she said. But their positive attitude sustained them and the team went on to a 20-4-2 season and won the NCAA East Regional Championship and became the first St. Rose women’s soccer team to reach the NCAA Division II final four. It was the first time the team ever had 20 victories in a season.
When Darling-Gutheil took over the program 13 years ago the team had had three coaches in three years. Her record to date is 156-16-76. This year she was named NCAA East Region Division II Coach of the Year. Her players also received an NSCAA Team Academic Award.
Scholar Athletes
HFCS Director of Athletics Mike Lilac presented Husser with the NYS Scholar Athlete Team plaque. Sixteen of the players made the honor roll. Like Darling-Gutheil, Husser always impresses on his
players the importance of their scholastic achievement and that it outshines their sporting accomplishments and will last them a lifetime.
He concluded the banquet by saying, “We were 13-7-1 this season, and we will be back!”
