Apponequet girls varsity soccer team aims to ‘finish strong’ heading into post-season

LAKEVILLE — As the Apponequet Regional High School’s girls soccer team prepares for the playoffs, it looks to its oldest players for motivation. 

The senior-heavy team has high hopes for its post-season, which will be some of the last games for many of the players. 

The team has won eight of its games, with one loss and a tie. Coach Walter Seaberg said the senior captains have been the driving force to maintain this momentum.

He credited them with keeping the girls motivated and excited for games. He also gave them a more active leadership role this year, such as having them lead drills at training and seeking their input on the program.

“I think their investment is helping them keep that fire burning,” Seaberg said. 

Many of the girls on the team have been playing soccer together from childhood. 

Senior captain Leah McGee said their long history means the players know how to work well together, and it has forged a close bond among them. 

“It feels really good, because we’re really working as a team," McGee said. “It's not just one person playing for themself.”

The school’s youth program funnels players into the varsity team. Seaberg said the strong foundation players build in that program sets them up for success in his. 

He pointed to two things that prepared them to play on a winning team: fundamentals and friendships. 

He said once they join his team, successful players already have the basic skills they need. They have proper techniques, know the game and are ready to jump into the squad.

The junior varsity team operates in a similar way as the varsity team, which Seaberg said helps reduce “culture shock” and makes for a smooth transition into a higher level of play.

Players also have previously established friendships when they rise from the junior varsity team.

“The youth [program] gives us good players that have the fundamentals, and then we just kind of tweak them a little bit and they run with it,” he said. “They’ve been playing together forever and a day, so they know each other, we just have to tweak things.”

McGee's fellow captain, Addie Combs, said her teammates pride themselves both on "never yelling" at each other, and their strong connection during gameplay and outside of the team. 

Both seniors agreed this connection has pushed the team to succeed. 

“We’re all really good friends on and off the field, so it makes it easier to play with each other,” Combs said.

McGee said the seniors in particular are motivated by their short time left on the team, especially as many know they won’t keep playing the sport in the future. 

She said this makes them want to “finish strong.”

Seaberg said he also wants to see the team do well, and is happy with how far it has gone already. 

“This is an experience for the girls,” he said. “They’re the ones who are going to remember this — not that I’m not going to remember, but this is all them.”

He said he has game plans prepared and is ready to coach them to success, but the execution is up to the players. He hopes under his guidance the team will have a long playoff run and will have “a good time coming home on the buses,” with a championship in hand.

With the regular reason coming to an end, McGee said the team is competition-ready.

“I think this year we’re all really determined because we’re seniors, so we want to go far — as far as we can — especially because it’s the last year we have with each other,” she said.