By Ashley Nnabue ‘16

The success behind the 6-2 record, as of Wednesday, October 1, held by the girls’ soccer team is the talented players’ skills put to good use through the team’s strategic approach on the field.

It is no secret that the Warriors have fast, strong forwards. The team takes advantage of this by getting the ball to their outside strikers who dribble the ball with pace down the sideline and look for the opportunity to cross the ball to a player in the middle who has a chance at scoring.

“This has been a system of play that has been effective over the course of the last three seasons at Sherwood. It has fit our team very well with our exceptional athleticism on the outside, and skillful, smart players in the middle of the field,” said Coach Danielle Rosanova.

Using the 4-3-3 system, the midfield has been successful in maintaining an attack-minded focus, which is highly beneficial since they are the heart of the team. The midfield assists both offensively and defensively by setting up the forwards with through balls and then coming back to support the defense when marking the opposing players.

“They need to move up and back—together. Pretty much the whole team needs to move as a unit,” said senior Tiffany Woods, who plays defense.

The Warriors’ two losses came against top teams in Montgomery County and in the state as a whole. In a 2-0 loss on September 10 against BCC, the Warriors continued their tendency to play nervously against the powerhouse program that has won multiple state titles over the past five years.

The Churchill game on September 22 resulted in a 3-0 loss, but the team played very well defensively. “The last two goals were a result of [Sherwood’s desperate] offensive push in the final minutes of the game,” explained Rosanova.

Although both BCC and Churchill are strong teams, the key for the Warriors is finishing on their quality scoring opportunities and minimizing mistakes. “We just need to keep our focus the entire game … It impacts the future because now knowing those mistakes, they won’t happen again and we can move forward,” said senior forward Lauren Woods.