Sports

The Mimbas, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity soccer team, held tryouts on March 3, 4, and 5 in hopes of forming a championship caliber team. They are anticipating a very different makeup this season, after losing four key starters to graduation and obtaining a new coach for the third time in three years.

“Changing coaches has been stressful just because we don’t really know the people or what to expect. You always get mixed reviews before you meet someone,” senior Sara O’Connor said. “Regardless of who our coach is, the Mimbas are the Mimbas.”

The new coach, Adam Goldstein, is the boys’ varsity soccer coach as well. He was given the girls’ coaching job this season after last season’s coach, physical education teacher Phil Fisher, decided not to resume his former role. Fisher’s decision was based on his need to take the spring season off to rest, as he coaches girls’ volleyball and boys’ basketball during the fall and winter seasons, respectively.

One thing evident to Goldstein when he began coaching the girls’ team was their chemistry. “Team camaraderie and feel for one another on the field, attitude and effort [are our team strengths],” Goldstein said.

In the 2006 season, former coach James Herlihy led the team to a 6-5-1 season record. The following year, after Herlihy left because of a family emergency, Physical Education teacher and former coach Phil Fisher helped the team finish with an impressive, undefeated record of 12-0-1.

Although adapting to Goldstein’s new style might be difficult, he feels the Mimbas are ready to put in the hard work necessary to win. The girls already notice the difference in the coaching styles of Goldstein and Fisher. “Mr. Goldstein is a soccer coach, as opposed to Mr. Fisher who’s kind of an all sports coach,” O’Conner said. “Mr. Goldstein does a lot more work with soccer skills, dribbling, foot work and the like, and he combines it with tactical training such as positioning. Mr. Fisher focused on tactical training because it’s basically moving the ball up the field how you do in basketball which was his main strength.”

Not having Goldstein in school has been difficult at times because it makes organizing slightly harder. Goldstein is a social studies teacher at M.S. 51 in Brooklyn. There have been some scheduling issues, but the Mimba’s adaptation to their new coach has been successful overall.

The loss of two alumni, Cailey Simmons (‘07) and Dara Frank (‘07), will affect the team on the field. Simmons (’07), a forward, was 28th in total scoring for all of Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) soccer players, and Frank, a midfielder, together scored a total of 21 goals in the 2007 spring season. In addition, Simmons (‘07) won the prestigious PSAL Heisman Award during her sophomore season. Looking to fill the offensive holes left by the departed seniors will be juniors Morgan Browning and Gabriel Beer, who each scored six goals in the 2007 season, and sophomore Marantha Dawkins, who scored three goals in the same season.

Even without the seniors, the team feels they will be prepared to handle the challenges they may face throughout the season. The Mimbas play in the Manhattan A-II division, and feel ready to make a push for the division title. Two teams, Bard High School Early College and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School are new to the division this season. Both are coming off undefeated seasons, but in the lower B division.

Lab/Musuem United, another team in the A-II division, is coming off a 3-8 season and has lost six seniors. Julia Richmond High school, the other team in the division, is coming off a 4-8 season and has lost seven seniors.

The release of the game schedule and of the new divisional teams has caused concern. Its considerable weakness has left players like O’Connor feeling “worried that our weak division is going to leave us unprepared for playoffs,” she said. Goldstein is preparing them by having two friendly matches against former division rivals the Bronx High School of Science and Beacon High School.

Senior and co-captain Angela Khermouch believes her job will be relatively easy this year. She said, “The best way for players to grow and learn the game is really through playing, so I want the team to play as much as possible, whether it’s in scrimmages or against each other in practice. As long as everyone is dedicated and plays hard, I won’t have much to do”.

If all goes well, the team should be set to square off against Lab Museum United High School in their first game on Wednesday, March 26.