The Middle School girls soccer team had an eventful season and finished with a 5-4-3 record this spring. It was the Owls first winning season since 2019.
“The season was really good because we had a lot of great people on the team who cooperated with each other,” said seventh grader Monika Yankova. “We cared and we actually tried at games and we did the best we could.”
Sixth grader Alexis Federico led the team in scoring with 11 goals and 8 assists, followed by Yankova (8 goals, 5 assists), sixth grader Julia Flaherty (7 goals, 7 assists), and seventh grader Jasmine Shi (6 goals, 5 assists).
“Alexis led the team not only in scoring but with communication,” said coach Kim Federico. “She was very vocal on the field talking to the girls. Whether she was on the field or in goal you could always hear her voice helping girls with the plays and letting them know where to be.”
On the defensive side, Kim Federico said the Owls were led by eighth grader and captain Lily Van Hess and sixth grader Lindsay Jordan. Van Hess and Jordan both played the center back positions.
Seventh grader Layla Cox was the team’s main goalkeeper, while Federico and eighth grader Dominique Frederique also helped out in the net.
In a 6-1 loss to MOT, Cox recorded 20 saves against a team that would go undefeated and outscore its opponents 93-5.
When asked how she thought the Owls performed defensively this season, Cox praised her teammates for stopping the ball and sending it the other way.
“Our defense was good,” Cox said. “They definitely got the ball away and got it to the offense to score. They gave the offense a lot of opportunities. Their hustle to the ball was really good.”
In their first game, the Owls faced off against Shue Middle School and came out on top 3-0. Federico, Yankova, and Shi each scored a goal, and Federico also had 5 saves.
In a 3-2 win against Avon Grove Charter, Flaherty scored 2 goals, Shi added 1 goal, and Cox made 4 saves to help Odyssey win the tight contest.
The Owls followed that win with a 6-0 victory over Academia Antonia Alonso Charter. Yankova led the way offensively with 3 goals.
In the final two wins of the season, Federico scored 6 goals. In a 4-1 win over Red Lion, she scored 3 goals and seventh grader Lila Carini chipped in with 2 assists. In a 7-0 win over Academia, Federico again scored 3 goals, Flaherty scored 2 goals, and Flaherty and Yankova each added 3 assists.
Also helping the Odyssey offense this season were eighth grader Isabella Furst (1 goal, 2 assists) and eighth grader and captain Anahi Verdugo (2 assists).
When asked if there was a player who really stood out for showing improvement this season, coach Federico mentioned Carini.
“Lila Carini had never played before and she earned a spot as a starter quickly into the season,” Federico said. “She scored her first goal and it was a header goal. Our one and only header goal for the team this year.”
