Season Preparation Begins For Norton Girls Soccer

Over the next few weeks, between practice sessions and scrimmages, the girls’ soccer team will certainly be prepared for the upcoming 2011 season.

Under the watchful eyes of Norton head coach Todd Kefor and assistant coach Nicole Nunes, a total of 44 student-athletes, an increased number from a year ago, began practice on Thursday on the lower fields at , hoping to contribute to the success of the Lancers this coming fall.

“We separate the first two weeks into two sections,” said Todd Kefor, who is beginning his fourth full season and fifth overall with the Lancer varsity team. “The first part is the tryouts. We give the kids the opportunity to showcase their abilities. We want to see how they respond to different things.

“The second half, once we divide the teams into varsity and junior varsity, is more about training and preparing for the season ahead. We get into things a little more specifically at that point in preparation for the season.”

A year ago, Norton completed the regular season with an 8-4-6 record and entered the MIAA Division 2 South Sectional Tournament as the 11th seed. The Lancers then dropped a 4-1 decision to sixth-seeded Pembroke (15-5-3) in the first round.

Norton has a seven-member senior class returning to the field this fall, led by senior captains Meagan Elliott, Kim Schubert, Kristen MacGray and Kate Ledbetter.

“Those seven seniors are phenomenal skill wise and soccer IQ wise,” said Kefor. “This is one of the smallest senior classes to come through the program since I have been here, but it is arguably the best.”

The Lancers will begin their busy scrimmage schedule on Saturday when they travel to Sharon to face the Eagles at 10:30 a.m. Norton will then host Cardinal Spellman on Monday afternoon on the lower fields at the middle school.

The Lancers will travel to Attleboro for another scrimmage on Tuesday afternoon before hosting Mansfield on Wednesday afternoon on the lower fields at the middle school. Norton will round out its scrimmage slate by entertaining Massasoit Community College of Brockton next Thursday at Camp Finberg.

“The scrimmages are really useful in determining who will make the varsity and junior varsity teams,” said Kefor. “We want to see how the kids respond to the speed of the game and game scenarios. One of the main points that we will be stressing this year is the communication between the players on the field.”

The Norton coaching staff will probably keep between 18 and 20 players at both the varsity and junior varsity levels. “We are looking for quality over quantity,” said Kefor.

“One of the things we stressed to the girls is to give it their all at all times. We want them to understand that there is not just one thing that will make or break them as far as making the team. One mistake will not hurt their chances to make it, so we want them to give it everything they’ve got.”

Much like the Lancer boys, the girls face a challenging start to their season. Norton opens the 2011 campaign by hosting the reigning Division 2 state champions in Medfield (21-1-2 in 2010) on Tuesday, Sept. 6. It won’t get any easier that Friday when the Lancers travel to Dover-Sherborn to face a Raider squad that reached the Division 3 state semifinals a year ago and finished with a 14-5-4 record.

Norton will then host Hopkinton on Tuesday, Sept. 13. The Hillers were 7-7-5 a year ago and reached the first round of the Division 2 South Tournament before falling 4-0 to Medfield. The Lancers will round out that week by traveling to Ashland on Friday, Sept. 16. The Clockers were just 5-5-8 during the regular season last fall, but then won a pair of tournament games and advanced to the Division 2 South Quarterfinals.