Wallkill Valley girls' soccer makes progress

HAMBURG — The Wallkill Valley High School girl’s soccer program was served well by players from a variety of grade levels (freshmen through seniors) this year.
The Rangers tallied six overall victories, with a mark of 5-5 in the challenging Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Colonial Conference. They also advanced to the NJSIAA North 1 Group 1 Sectional as the No. 14 seed and were defeated by third seeded Saddle Brook.
“Samantha Opilla, as a freshman she had time to learn under some senior leadership and when they left she really stepped up into an attacking-minded player who we look to to make exciting moments happen," Wallkill Valley head coach Allison Wacker said. “Hailey Munoz, as just a freshman she has emerged as a well-balanced player for us. Our coaches have entrusted her in any position and feel comfortable whenever she is on the field. Kayla Baker, as our captain this season, she led by example in every game. She bounced around between midfield and forward in order to balance our attack. She also pitched in with goals and assists.
“Kayla Lame, the score sheet won't reflect what this junior has done for us. She has been a consistent force in the middle of the field to allow Hailey Munoz to get more involved in the attack. Natalia Mianowski, the sophomore defender rose to a leadership role after sophomore defender Madison Gunderman got injured and was out of the lineup for weeks. These two sophomores have impacted our defense after we lost numerous starters to graduation."
Coach Wacker recalls a very meaningful and memorable victory that the Rangers achieved this season.
“Our win against Sussex Tech (on Oct. 4) was a standout win for us," Wacker said. “It was our night game at home and we won, 5-0. Sussex Tech has proven to be one of our major rivals in the Division. Junior Kayla Baker had one goal, sophomore Samantha Opilla had two goals and freshman Hailey Munoz had two goals. Hannah Panzarella had four saves in goal. We had a great team game where all of our players were able to get some minutes."
Wallkill Valley is looking to keep up their positive momentum for the duration of the 2019 season.
“We are a young team with tons of room for improvement," Wacker said. “The girls have a long list of things to do during the off-season to help them improve and be a contender for the Division championship next season.