Nothing about the situation seemed right to Niri Halperin.
The Brooklyn Tech junior had been playing travel soccer since she was in fourth grade, but two years ago it stopped being fun. Halperin, who spent her earlier years with the Brooklyn Patriots, was moved up an age group to the Fusion of the Manhattan Soccer Club. She was in her first year of high school and practices were at far away Randall’s Island.
“I felt like it was very difficult for me,” she said. “I didn’t know anyone on the team. It was just a bad time. There was a lot of pressure on me. I kind of got frustrated with myself. So I took a break. It took me so long to get back into it.”
What it took was a few phone calls from players from the Manhattan Kickers, a team that included former rivals and teammates. Halperin played against many of them when she was with the Brooklyn Patriots. Kickers coach Mike Pfeffer said he use to man-mark the speedy forward.
“We shut her down, but I knew what she was all about,” Pfeffer said.
Added Halperin: “They always had Emma [Pichl] or Meagan [Pfeffer] on defense and we could never get past them.”
Despite interest from other programs, she finally relented and went to the Kickers’ practice before the spring season and hasn’t left since. But still there was frustration early. Even though Halperin has been a star at Brooklyn Tech the last two seasons, tallying 18 goals and 14 assists last year, playing at the travel level again still took some getting accustomed to.
“She still needs a little bit more time, but her foot skills are ridiculous,” Mike Pfeffer said.
That has translated into Halperin’s fair share of goals this season, including two of her team’s most important. She scored both goals in the Kickers 2-1 win over Bethesda Force of Maryland in the Region I President Cup semifinals finals over Memorial Day weekend. The team won the tournament and will be traveling to Tennessee this week to compete for the National Presidents Cup crown. Her performance was a boost on a lot of levels.
“I think it helped people put more faith in me because I was new,” Halperin said…“On a team when the players have faith in you it is easier to play with them. They give you the ball more. Everything flows better.”
She has been a big edition from the start however. Halperin is a natural scorer, no matter what the level. She scored 23 goals during a stellar sophomore season at Brooklyn Tech and 16 as a freshman. The Kickers’ trademark has been it exceptional defensive back four and they were in need of a boost up front.
“We were struggling with some of our forwards,” Pichl said. “They are really good, but we just couldn’t find the back of the net. [Halperin] doesn’t give up. She just keeps going until she can actually get a goal.”
Halperin’s return to travel soccer has affected the way she views the game heading into her senior season. At Brooklyn Tech, she is the first scoring option and many times needs to create for herself, though distributing more with each year, in order to score. Playing with teammates at an equal or higher level has her feeding off those around her and making them better.
“I learned I have to play more with players and more of a passing game than I was use to with the PSAL,” Halperin said. “So when I come back I think I’m going to be playing a little differently.”
