The 5-6 record the Nutley girls soccer team has through the first month might not indicate it, but head coach Mike DiPiano sees a team that is on the verge of a breakthrough.
“The last two years, we’ve gotten a good influx of freshmen and sophomores and we’re right there. We’re in every game,,” said DiPiano of a group that has seven freshmen playing regular minutes. “We’re right there. We’re knocking on the door (in these games) and we will be battle tested to help us compete in the state and county tournaments and in the future.”
Those freshmen have been in prominent roles since day one and showed that not only do they belong, but are thriving on the varsity level.
Nutley’s top two goal scorers are freshmen with Madison Heal (seven goals, two assists) at forward and Selmah Kantor (six goals, two assists) as an attacking midfielder.
Kantor in particular, has all the tools to be the next bigtime player out of Nutley.
“Selmah Kantor is the next one, she’s the motor,” DiPiano said. “She’s learning from Brooke (Yero). She’s going to be the next really important piece, in my eyes, over the next three years. She has the ability to be the next Brooke on the field and off the field.”
That tandem of Kantor and Yero in the center midfield, has been a real strength for the Maroon Raiders thus far. Yero, a three-year starter and two-year captain, has five goals and six assists this season.
“She’s been a really good leader for us,” said DiPaino. “We’re going to be sad to see her go on the field and we’re also going to be sad when she’s not here because of everything else she brings. She’s a great student, she’s a great captain, she’s a great friend.”
Yero and Kantor are joined in the midfield by a deep collection of contributors in senior senior Danielle Goode, who moved up from defense, as well as junior Rosa Harrington, freshman Allyson Roman and sophomores Skylar Florie and Thea Defabbio. Senior Katie Guerrero, freshman Kayleigh Martinez have also seen time in the midfield
Up top is Heal along with another promising underclassmen in sophomore Isa Harrington, who has five goals and two assists. Senior Sarah Berry and junior Makayla Albert have been key reserves at forward.
Nutley’s defense has been anchored by freshmen Mackenzie Shedd and Mia Sceppaguercio.
“They have been very important for us in the back,” said DiPiano. “They played together on a pretty high level club team so the fact that they have that bond back there really helps.”
Sophomore Sophia McMullen is another starter on the backline with junior Daniella Gagliardo and freshman Ellie Oldak splitting the fourth starting spot. Sophomore Zoey Von Roth has also seen extensive minutes on defense.
Breele Robson is the starting keeper after serving as a backup the previous two years. The senior captain has two shutouts on the season for Nutley.
Nutley hosts Newark East Side in a Super Essex Conference crossover game on Tuesday, then West Milford two days later before the start of the Essex County Tournament.
While the Raiders might not get as high of a seed as they are accustomed to for the Essex County Tournament, DiPiano feels this group now has the experience to go with the potential to make some noise, especially once it can turn one of these near losses into a win.
“I think we’re a tough out for anybody that draws us in the counties or in the states. I do feel once one of these games switches in our favor, once we win that 1-0, 2-1 type of game, I can see us exploding from there.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)