The Lyndhurst girls’ soccer team should be a powerhouse once again this season, thanks to a solid line of returning defenders. Front row, from l., are Claudia Engels, Kelsie Kearns, Gabriella Franchino and Giana Nerney. Back row, from l., are Maya Calvi, Isabella Castagnetti, Sara Barreiros, Joanne Arvanitakas
and head coach Kim Hykey.
The Lyndhurst High School girls’ soccer team lost their leading goal scorer and leading playmaker to graduation from a team that finished 19-3 a year ago: two young ladies who subsequently moved on to play college soccer.
That should be enough for any coach to lose sleep at night going into a new season.
But veteran head coach Kim Hykey is not worried about the Golden Bears this season. She’s having fun – and it has nothing to do with being a newlywed, as Hykey got married last month.
Sure, Jessica Failace, the Golden Bears’ top goal scorer last year, is now playing soccer at Sacred Heart University. And the top assist maker, Giana DiTonto, is now at Felician College.
“We’re not depleted,” Hykey said. “It sounds like we lost a lot. But we scored 120 goals as a team last year. We have other kids who can put the ball in the back of the net. We just lost two pieces from last year’s team. I think we’re going to be all right. We have a good group, a fun group, a group that’s great to be around.”
Hykey said that the Golden Bears might play a different style this season to compensate for the losses of Failace and DiTonto.
“We’re going to switch things up a little and play a little more defensively,” Hykey said. “We’re going to replace our losses by playing differently. I do expect others to step it up a little.”
The Golden Bears are deep in the goalkeeping department, as senior Sara Barreiros returns as the starting goalkeeper, but freshman Isabella Castagnetti, the daughter of former Lyndhurst football coach Joe Castagnetti, is waiting in the wings.
“Sara is already proven there, but Izzy is up and coming,” Hykey said. “She plays soccer all year long. She’s very athletic. She plays on a highly competitive club team. She’s the real deal. I think we’ll balance things out.”
Hykey said that the Golden Bears might see Barreiros move onto the field in the regular rotation, where she played before being moved to goalkeeper two years ago.
“We’ll wait and see what happens,” Hykey said.
Junior Claudia Engles returns as the team’s sweeper and junior Kelsie Kearns is now the stopper. Hykey likes what she has in her back line.
“They’re interchangeable,” Hykey said. “I might have Claudia at stopper and Kelsie at sweeper, depending upon the opposition. I would actually love to see Kelsie in the midfield, because I think that’s where she could do the most damage. Kearns sets the tone for the entire team. But for now, this combination works.” If Kearns is moved up to midfield, then junior Maya Calvi will be the first to be asked to step in.
The Golden Bears also welcome back Gabriella Franchino to the defensive back line. Franchino is a senior. Fellow senior Joanne Arvanitakas is the other defender. Having that much depth and experience in the back might be another reason why Hykey might want to change the team’s strategy and philosophy.
Junior Amanda Fulcher returns to the center midfield, where she had a brilliant sophomore season, compiling 18 goals and 22 assists.
“Obviously, she’s one of our best skilled players, but we want her to take on more of a leadership role this year as well,” Hykey said. “She’s the one who can do it all. She can beat you off the dribble or fire a shot from 30 feet out. She has a great leg.”
Junior Olivia Cairns is another returnee. Cairns came off the bench last season and contributed a lot to the team’s success.
“She worked her tail off to get a starting role,” Hykey said. “She can beat you physically. She’s a warrior.”
Sophomore Mia Luna scored nine goals last year. She’s also a member of the midfield corps, as is junior Cabrielle Carrion, who had seven goals last season. Hykey is right when she says her team has a lot of offensive firepower back from last year. Fulcher is the player to watch and might be one of the best performers in the NJIC.
The forward line consists of senior Destiny Keith and junior Caitlyn Blake. Blake had nine goals and seven assists last year. Keith has to stay healthy and stay on the field this fall.
“She’s stayed in the background before now,” Hykey said of Keith. “Now it’s her time to lead this team.”
Take note: the Golden Bears are still a relatively young team, with only three seniors set to start right away, although seniors Della Montalvo and Giana Nerney will see action. Montalvo is a midfielder, Nerney a defender.
The Golden Bears open their season with a tough match to kick it all off, facing league foe New Milford on Sept. 10. It should be a solid test to see where the Golden Bears match up.
“It’s really a good group, a fun group,” Hykey said. “These kids should be pretty good for the next two years, so we just want to keep things going in the right direction.”
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”