The Harrison girls soccer team might be relatively young, but they’re already showing the resilience and the maturity of a much older squad. On Sept. 13, the Huskies overcame a halftime deficit—and some late game miscues that plagued the team in a game last week—to earn a 3-2 victory over the Ardsley.

Despite controlling the action for much of the first half and generating plenty of scoring chances, the Huskies headed into halftime trailing the visitors 1-0. 

“In the first half, we had about 20 shots to six, we just weren’t hitting frame, and that’s what we talked to them at halftime about,” said head coach Jon-Erik Zappala. “But we played a little bit more fluid, working the ball in the second half, and they didn’t stop the whole time.”

The Huskies came out of halftime with the same aggressiveness they showed in the first 40 minutes of the game, eventually knotting the score on a header by Ally Stilo 12 minutes into the half. That goal opened the floodgates, as the Huskies rattled off two more goals—off the feet of Sofia Miller and Ava Cefaloni—to take a 3-1 lead. 

“The goal [by Stilo] really cleared their head,” said Zappala. “It definitely loosened up the frustration because they were definitely frustrated.”

The Panthers battled back to make it a 3-2 game with time running out—a position the Huskies found themselves in a Sept. 9 game against Yorktown which saw them cough up an overtime lead with 20 seconds to play to come away with a tie.

This time, however, the Huskies held firm, avoiding the mistakes that cost them against Yorktown. 

“This team is building game by game with confidence and chemistry; most of all, we’re becoming more vocal, which is allowing us to keep possession,” said Zappala. “But our assistant coach Lindsey Reilly says we need ‘fire in the belly’ which basically means we don’t want to feel that again.”

Harrison will look to maintain its momentum as they prepare for a tilt with Ursuline on Sept. 17, but so far, Zappala has been pleased with the strides his team are making early on. 

“We’re a very young team, and this is a building year,” he said. “But they’re stepping right up and they’re showing everyone that this may be a building year, but we’re here to play and their confidence is growing game by game.”

Contact: sports@hometwn.com