Leon Goldstein was in danger of not even being able to field a girls soccer team just a few short months ago. A large portion of the squad participates in SING, a student-run musical production, and when it was announced that the girls soccer season was switching to the fall last January, there was fear the Dolphins would disband.
“Basically, three-fourths of the school is involved,” first-year Goldstein coach Joanna Soares said. “It’s time consuming. The kids practice every day of the week. As it gets closer, they’re there on weekends. It’s something they create, so they want to be there.”
Goldstein has lost a few players to SING and to swimming, but the program has stayed intact. On Saturday morning, the Dolphins managed to upset borough favorite Brooklyn Tech, 5-3, at Sterling Field in PSAL Brooklyn A-III action.
The Engineers were seeded sixth in the PSAL Class A playoffs last year and made it to the quarterfinals. They return basically the same team, too.
The secret for Soares has been to let her players participate in SING in addition to playing on the team. Although there can be some issues – the coach said a 4-2 loss to Lincoln on Thursday was a result of a lack of focus on soccer – the Dolphins (4-3-0) have emerged as a playoff contender in their second season in the ‘A’ league.
“They all decided to step up,” Soares said of the Brooklyn Tech win.
Goldstein lost its first two games – to division-leading Fort Hamilton and Brooklyn Tech – but has won four of its last five. That is, in no small part, due to the emergence of freshman Pamela Wishart.
She wasn’t able to play early in the season because she didn’t have enough practices, but the youngster has become a star. Wishart, whose sister, Jessica, plays for Midwood, has nine goals in four games, including a hat trick against Brooklyn Tech.
“A lot of it has to do with her,” Soares said. “She knows a lot about soccer. She’s all over the place.”
The Dolphins also boast a stingy defense, led by Liana Denaro and Violet Krivolapova, who Soares recently moved from sweeper to center back in Goldstein’s new 4-4-2 formation.
“I put her all over the place,” Soares said. “You can put her anywhere and she’ll say, ‘Thank you for putting me in the game.’”
Pamela Chernyakhovsky, who has five goals and four assists in seven games, and Vanessa Ramos anchor the midfield. Goldstein has a second straight big test coming up Tuesday against Fort Hamilton. Wishart wasn’t playing when the Dolphins lost, 2-1, to the Tigers in their season opener.
Goldstein is clearly a different team now. It has a legitimate striker that makes everyone else better.
“We have to shoot more, we have to shoot harder, we have to want it,” Soares said. “They came through [against Brooklyn Tech].”