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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

Girls soccer team prepares for fall

The high school soccer season is a little more than two months away, but the Salisbury girls' team continues to prepare throughout the summer months.

In addition to workouts twice a week, the Lady Falcons have two teams playing in the Lehigh Valley Summer Soccer League (LVSSL), where they compete twice a week as well.

With the talent split up nearly evenly amongst both squads, CSG Falcon Blue has been testing its play in the Group B Division, competing against a number of varsity-laden teams across the area. Last week, the Lady Falcons faced Emmaus, and despite a 3-0 defeat on Wednesday, head coach Rick Babyak sees a bright future with his squad.

"We have two teams in this league, and we divided the teams up relatively even talent-wise," Babyak said. "We're out here competing with our team, a split-team like that, against an Emmaus team today, and we're right there with them.

"And when you think about when we combine the two teams together come the fall, we'll do okay. There is a high potential."

Reilly McGinnis broke a scoreless game in the first half with a header past Lady Falcon goalkeeper Jordan Kamp off a Hornet corner kick. Despite six shots in the first half, Kamp kept it a one-goal game at the break with two saves, including a sprawling stop just before the halftime whistle.

McGinnis got enough of her foot on a Hornet pass to knock in her second of the game in the second half. Moments later, Peyton Ritter's strike made it a 3-0 game.

Kamp recorded five saves for the Lady Falcons.

The Lady Falcons lost vital pieces at a number of positions from last year's team, including defender Kori Hadinger and forward Katelyn Bucchin, both Colonial League Second Team All-Stars in 2013. The Lady Falcons lost a total of nine seniors.

And while just two seniors return for 2014, Babyak believes there is talent up and down his roster.

"It's a very good group," Babyak said. "We lost a lot of talented seniors, but the youngsters coming in are good."

Kamp, who was the Colonial League's First-Team selection as a goalkeeper, returns for the Lady Falcons in goal. She'll be the anchor for a defense that lost three of its top pieces.

"We lost three senior defenders, and we play with four backs," Babyak said. "So we're trying to figure out who are going to be those defenders. Right now, that looks good. There are quite a few girls who are playing very well at that position."

Sophie Niesenbaum, Kyra Bruns, Jess Safi, Alex Freeman and Marisol Rosario, are just a few names that could fill those defensive holes.

The CSG Falcon White team is 4-1-1 this season. The CSG Blue team is now 3-3.

"The future is very bright," Babyak said. "It's a very good group, right from the older players right down to the new players coming in. It's a good situation."

Both teams will continue their seasons on Wednesday evening at Lehigh University Fields at Goodman Campus and Stabler Arena. In Group B, CSG Falcon Blue faces Kodiak Attack at 7:15 on Field 8. CSG Falcon White faces Lady Bears (Pleasant Valley) at 6 p.m. on Field 8 in Group A.