Brookside Panthers

                                                    

We are the Brookside Panthers. We will be starting our ninth season together as a team and our fourth season playing in the Pioneer Valley Junior Soccer League. In the Fall 2007 season, our team went undefeated in league play and were the division "runner-up" with a record of 9-0-3. However, the first place team did not beat us once. We actually showed them who was number one when we defeated them in the playoff championship. 

This past Spring 2008 season presented a new challenge for the Brookside Panthers. With all of our success, we were moved up to Division II. We did not have the type of season that we have been used to. In the Fall 2008 season, the Panthers were determined to prove that we belong in Division II. We made it to the Championship Sem-Finals and lost to the #1 team with a score of 2-1. The Panthers get better every season!

Meet the Brookside Panthers team...........

I must start with Morgan Senecal. She is what brought my husband and I to this team in the first place. Morgan is one of our halfbacks who can also play anywhere else on the field with no hesitation. Morgan will fight until she can not fight anymore and still be ready to get back on that field. Morgan has a great drive and will fight for the ball tirelessly.

Then, the Brown's who have been with us since our first season as the Panthers. Rachel Brown is our star forward who is a force to be reckoned with. Her goal count is always in the high double digits with a Fall 2007 tally of 34 goals. She is very quick and moves effortlessly around her opponents. When Rachel breaks away, a goal is soon to follow.

You can't mention the star goal scorer without mentioning the best goalie that I have seen for this age group, Sarah Brown. Sarah commands the ball when it is anywhere near her......fearlessly. She is relentless and improving everyday. Sarah owns the net and she knows it. Sarah has learned to be a great goalie very quickly.......watch out!

Katelyn Jutz has been with us since the beginning. Katelyn has a lot of fight and proves it in the halfback position. She knows her position well and she will shock me sometimes when she escapes a crowd dribbling with the ball. Katelyn is another one of my smaller girls but you wouldn't know it by her heart and her drive. 

Another one of the girls who is so little but fights with the best of them.....Samantha Blaine. There are times that I forget to sub Sam out because she just does not get tired or give up. This is Sam's seventh season with us as an outside halfback. When Sam fights for the ball, chances are that she will come out with it......and those moves....watch out.

Aliya Johnson is another star fullback/sweeper who has been with us for seven seasons. Aliya is very fast and has very good foot control. When Aliya gets the ball (which is 9 times out of 10), she will get the ball down field perfectly. Aliya is another player who will fight until she has nothing left. She is also another player that I forget to sub sometimes because you would never know that she gets tired.

Another girl with that non-stop drive is Vanessa Rodriguez. Vanessa does not stop at all. She will fight with an energy that makes me tired to watch. She has been playing halfback and fullback so far.... I feel very comfortable knowing that Vanessa will give 100% when she is on the field. She has been with the Panthers for four seasons now and she is a very important part of our team.

Alizaya Clark is an outstanding player with lightning speed, outstanding energy and great moves. She plays on the front line but usually on the left wing. She also has versatility that allows me to put her anywhere that is needed. Alizaya works very hard on the field and we all love to watch her play.

Savannah Santiago has been with us for three seasons and is a pleasure to have on this team. Savannah has played a majority of her time in the Fullback position with a fearless attitude. She is very determined and became a part of the Panther team with great ease.

How about Victoria Scala? Tori has a very natural soccer talent and can play almost anywhere on the field. Her stand-out moments have come while playing Fullback and putting quick stops to the threat of the opposing forwards. With some work this season with positioning, Tori will be a huge threat to our opponents at any position.

Hope Guevin joined us in the Spring 08 season and has earned the title of the most improved player. Hope has great heart and desire for the game and showed us that she was going to work very hard to be a part of this Panther soccer team. We are very excited to have Hope with us and look forward to watching her shut down her opponents in the halfback position.

Alexis Rios........ Lexi is so quick and relentless on the front line. Just when you would think that the ball is out of play, Lexi shows us that she has only just begun. She moves effortlessly around her opponents and is very determined to show them that she means business. She is  great on the Panthers front line and we can't wait to see how she does in her second season with us!

Mikayla Rios shows us an enormous amount of heart. She is the youngest player on the team and you would never know it. She loves to play and it shows everytime she steps on the field. Kayla usually plays outside halfback. When she is in battle for the ball, chances are very good that she will come out on top.

Chelsea Budd is a powerhouse. She is very shy so she doesn't know how capable she is of doing some serious damage. With some work on Chelsea's killer instinct this season, teams will have to watch out. She scored her first "Panther" goal against Northampton last season and showed us all that she is scoring threat to the other teams.

New to the panthers this season........

Kirstyn Kelley is a very exciting addition to the Panthers this season. She is showing great potention in indoor and we are excited to see what she can do in the Spring season. Kirstyn has great ball control, passing and shooting skills. We are looking forward to seeing her on the front line or at halfback!

Kaila Melendez is also joining the Panthers this season. Kaila also has great ball control and we are looking forward to her showing us the damage she can do on offense. Kaila is small but mighty!

A little about the coaches....

Doug Senecal is also a coach and my husband. He played soccer for about ten years as a goalie in Holyoke. He has coached with me for all nine seasons.

Doug and I are licensed soccer coaches. This past summer, we took courses thru the Mass Youth Soccer Association and earned both "G" and "F" licenses. We are very excited to share with the team all that we have learned this summer.

I played soccer for about sixteen years. I was an All-American soccer player at Cathedral High School and went on to play at Merrimack College. I coached for Holy Name while I was in High School and was an instructor at the UNH soccer camp while I was in college. This is my ninth season coaching the Brookside Panthers.

I would also like to mention Sam's mom Franny who has been awesome. She has been organizing extra activities for the girls, fundraiser's, and this website. Her help is bringing the team closer together and I know that we all appreciate it.

I also want to mention that a lot of parents get involved on a regular basis and that does not go unnoticed. Dawn & Kevin Brown always have pool parties for the team and everyone who participates in fundraising make everything run smoothly for the team.

One last note about the team and that includes the girls, parents and us coaches...........don't count us out Pioneer Valley, we came to play and win..........AGAIN!

Thanks to everyone! Let's have a great Spring Season!

Coach Caren Senecal