The McKee/Staten Island Tech girls soccer team will not be as deep or experienced as it was last season. That’s to be expected when you lose eight key players and a legendary coach from an undefeated city championship squad.
“A lot of the girls I have been talking to are like, ‘We got a few minutes of playing time, at least 10 minutes,’” first year head coach Joanna Santarpia said. “A lot of my sophomores and juniors are stepping up to fill big shoes and are doing a good job of it, too.”
There will be plenty of experienced players there to support them at each portion of the field, starting with midfielder/forward Jackie Bruno. The sophomore, who scored 19 goals and had nine assists last season, will be the key cog to the MSIT offense.
“She is an awesome player to watch, even at practice,” senior midfielder Kara DeRosa said. “She is dribbling circles around us. We will do juggling drills and she just keeps juggling.”
Having Bruno grow comfortable with the players around her will be a key on a squad with just 14 players. The Sea Gulls should have a talented midfield that will include seniors Samantha Cunzo, juniors Valeriana Dema, Melissa Ruff and Arianne Molloy. Sophomore Nicole Brennan is already developing strong chemistry with Bruno.
“There is not too much to worry about,” Bruno said.
The defense, though, is young and will be without senior Kristen Markoe, a vocal and talented leader. She chose to play volleyball when the PSAL girls soccer season was moved from the spring to the fall. There will be plenty of youth, including junior Meagan Koeth, sophomore Breanna Brukalo and possibly Brennan in front of keeper Jessica Cheung.
The senior will ease the transition in between the pipes. She has earned the complete confidence of her teammates in the net after stopping four penalty kicks to help clinch the PSAL Class A title game win over Beacon and is said to stop close 90 percent of the shots she sees in practice.
“She complains about getting hit with the ball all the time, but she is not afraid to step right behind that ball,” DeRosa said.
Santarpia takes over the squad from legendary coach Tony DiMaggio, who spent 21 years with the program. She played at Tottenville before going on to play at Washington College in Maryland, graduating in 2004. Santarpia spent two years as the junior varsity coach as Moore Catholic and was the varsity assistant last season. The players have taken an immediate liking to her.
“She works well with us and communicates really well,” Bruno said. “She definitely knows what she is doing.”
It will be her job to mesh her inexperienced talent with the veterans. One plus is that all of them have the experience of going to city championship game and claiming the crown.
“I feel like there are a lot of pieces that are still working well together individually,” Santarpia said. “They just need to mesh well a little bit better together. By the end of the season everything will be perfectly in place for them.”
