Coming into the season Tom Siller had a general idea of how good his team was and what it might be able to accomplish.
The fifth-year St. Joseph Hill girls soccer coach may have gotten a preview of what’s to come when the Hilltoppers beat Notre Dame Academy, the defending Archdiocesan champion, 2-0, on Thursday. It was the Gators’ first CHSAA Staten Island regular-season loss since 2006.
“It was a performance that we overcame our doubts on beating a team like Notre Dame,” Siller said. “It was a real step up for us to realize that we can beat a team like this. It is a great platform for us to work off of.”
The Hilltoppers (2-0) opened the game very strong and had a number of offensive opportunities, but couldn’t capitalize. The talented trio of senior Dana Drapa and sophomores Victoria Chirico and Gianna Smith dominated the offensive end.
“The team was very technically sound, they had a lot of one-touch balls,” Siller said. “They kept everything on the ground and everything was quick.”
Chirico set up Smith for the first goal and Smith returned the favor on the next play finding her classmate to put the Hilltoppers up, 2-0.
“Dana and Gianna are two very fast forwards” Siller said. “Victoria is a very technical player.”
While the Hilltoppers’ offense and midfield seem set for the year, Siller believes the team’s biggest weakness remains in the back. He called the defense a work in progress and said they are still getting in shape and learning how to work together. Until that happens St. Joseph Hill will have to rely on its strong offense, which was certainly the case against NDA.
“We were nervous,” Siller said. “We knew we could beat them, but [they] had to convince themselves that we can win. We were tight in the finishing end. Once everybody started getting comfortable, we finished pretty well.”