The Foran girls soccer team has enjoyed a strong season this year, going 8-8, and qualifying for the CIAC Girls’ Soccer State Tournament.

          Over 100 teams across the state have qualified for the tournament, and in the first round, Foran was matched with the tenth-seed Pomperaug High School in the first round winning 2-0. 

          Foran’s team is coached by Casey Blake. Before becoming a coach, she was a soccer player for Foran herself as a goalkeeper. She also played collegiate soccer at Eastern Connecticut State University. 

          Some of the assistant coaches of the team are also former players, such as Taylor Jagoe, Carly Pala, and Cassie Bennett.

          This is Blake’s seventh time appearing in the tournament as a coach since 2014.

          At the beginning of each season, Coach Blake sets goals for the season with her team.

          Blake remarks, “It is stressed that [the] goals are reasonable with one of two slightly out of their grasp. We talk about what we need to do to reach those goals.”

          The girls took their first win of the season away against Hamden, winning 6-3. Following the victory, the team finished the month of September with wins against Branford High School, North Haven High School, and Guilford High School.

          In the month of October, the team enjoyed a win over Hamden High School once again, and a 2-0 victory over crosstown-rivals Jonathan Law High School. This win qualified them for the tournament. Two days following the major victory against Jonathan Law, the girls triumphed over North Haven High School once again, winning 1-0.

          The team closed out the regular season on a high note, winning against Jonathan Law High School once again. This time, the score was 2-1.

          Yesterday, the girls continued their streak of victory, winning against Pomperaug High School, 2-0.

          Players on the team have spent lots of time practicing for the tournament throughout the season. They practice day after day, which helped them succeed in their first game of the state tournament. 

          Freshman girls soccer player Daniella Boutote elaborates, “a typical day at practice usually starts with one or two warm-up laps and goes into the dynamic warmup as well as some passing. Depending on the day we have a certain topic that we focus on (for example reactions or passing connections) and end with shooting or a scrimmage.”

          Each and every practice the team gets better at one specific aspect of the game. This step-by-step process allows the team to excel at every characteristic of the complex game of soccer. The team took those skills with them into the first game of the state tournament.

          With lots of time poured into soccer during the season, athletes have to find a way to stay motivated on and off the field. 

          Junior girls soccer player and student at Foran Taylor LaFountain says, “I stay motivated as a player by just thinking of the team and our seniors I wanna continue playing as many games as possible during states because it’s the senior’s last ride.”

With a win in the first round of the tournament, the girls are set to take on seventh-seed Suffield High School in the second round on November 10 at 4:00 p.m.