Having success can be credited to practice and hard work. For the Parkland High School girls soccer team, according to head coach Al Haddad, their unbeaten start to the 2022 regular season is due in large part to the training they had in the preseason.

“What starts us off on the right foot is the excellent training that St. Luke’s Sports Performance gives us over the summer,” said Haddad. “There was an average of 45 players that attended early morning conditioning that they run all summer. We returned eight starters from last year with real-time game experience.”

The Trojans (7-0 overall, 6-0 EPC) have won their first seven games on the schedule and have only allowed three goals through that span. The defensive backfield has been a strong unit of the team and a leadership group.

“I feel without a doubt, they are the best defensive unit out there,” Haddad said. “They were the best defense last year, now they’re all seniors. However, it is not just the back four and our goalie. Our midfield, especially our six, does a great job in protecting our center backs. Our forwards do a great job our shepherding the ball so we know exactly where its coming out at. After the first six games, we only allowed a total of nine shots on goal.”

Like many of the teams in years past, Haddad is able to rely on a number of different players and anybody can step up at any given time.

“One of our successes, is that we rarely have just one or two ‘go-to’ players,” said Haddad. “Try to stop one, and someone else will step up and rise to that night’s occasion. Allowing players to only score one goal in easier games helps us significantly as it forces players to get their heads up and find others and involve everyone. Senior forwards Ivy Dias and Sejal Wellington each play a different style, have been playing very well during this recent stretch.

“All six of our forwards are interchangeable and each has had a moment this season where they have dominated play. A great problem to have is figuring out which three to start knowing the next three can do the same job. Our midfield has been excellent. All juniors, they understand the positional role and have done a great job. Lauren Ervin by far is the best (defensive midfielder) in the area.”

Parkland has a busy week of games this week with four in six days, including a tough, nonconference game at Spring-Ford on Saturday to round out the week.

“The Governor Mifflin match was a turning point for us so far,” Haddad said. “It carried over into the Northampton game. Our next big test will be Saturday at Spring-Ford. Hopefully we continue to get slightly better each day, as we don’t want to hit our best stride till playoffs.”