The season is over for the North Star Wolves girls soccer team.
The 2024 soccer season concluded for North Star thanks to a 2-1 loss to the Riverside Stingers Monday afternoon in east Windsor. It was the quarterfinal game for the two teams. The coaches expressed pride in how the team played and thanked the seniors for their leadership throughout the season.
The Wolves advanced to the quarterfinals at Riverside thanks to a gutsy effort in the preliminary round last week.
North Star, missing seven players thanks to a school field trip, took on the Essex Red Raiders in a preliminary round WECSSAA “AA” preliminary playoff match last Wednesday afternoon at the Libro Centre. The Wolves picked up a 1-0 victory thanks to a Julia Mailloux first half goal, which was scored on a penalty kick.
Essex had opportunities late in the game, but North Star held off their opposition and picked up the victory.
The Wolves had several players playing out of their usual positions, one of them being June Buchner, a centre/mid-fielder who was pressed into service as the goalkeeper.
“They pulled it out,” said North Star head coach Joe Ciliberto. “We battled through and won with a limited lineup.”
Ciliberto praised the work of assistant coaches Leanna DiGiovanni and Bianca Goncalves, as they are now coaches after being recent graduates.
It was the first playoff win for the girls soccer team in the two-year history of North Star High School.
“They were determined,” said Ciliberto. “They didn’t want to lose. They went out there and played hard. These girls did a great job.”
“They played great,” added Goncalves. “I’m very impressed.”
Ciliberto said in addition to missing players last Wednesday, they had players that were also battling through injuries.
North Star entered the playoffs with a 3-2-1 regular season record, the tie being against Essex one week before the playoff game.
Wolves girls soccer team eliminated from WECSSAA “AA” playoffs
By Ron Giofu
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