As the school year winds down, the Westhampton Beach girls varsity soccer team is looking ahead, participating in a summer league in preparation for the fall season. 

In the past the girls’ team hasn’t had much luck making it to the playoffs. Last year they came close with a record of 6-8, needing to go 7-7 to begin a playoff run. The team hopes that extra preparation will increase their success. Brookhaven town hosts a summer league program from June to August for all junior varsity and varsity soccer teams. 

Coach Habersaat is feeling optimistic about the league. She said, “I think the summer league will give us experience and practice at game speed which will certainly be preparation for the season. Getting a head start working on team chemistry on the field through the summer league will hopefully help strengthen the returning core and fold in some new players.”

The team will face off against local teams in the summer league and will see some later on in the regular season.

This year Section XI changed the divisions to be based on geographic location instead of school size. Coach Habersaat said, “Based on past results the schedule this season looks to be balanced but competitive across the board.  As always, I feel this team has the potential to make playoffs.”

The team will be playing Center Moriches, Shoreham Wading River and a few others that haven’t been in the same division for years. 

The team is also excited to see what they can do this year. Rising senior captain Amanda Shannon said, “I believe we have a lot of new talent coming and the team has a lot of potential to do well.”

The most important thing on the field though, Amanda says, is to have a “good team environment,” a thing that’s inevitable on the Westhampton Beach Girls varsity soccer team.