Lady Raiders soccer started their season off right with a 3-1 win against Summit High School on Saturday, September 8 at home. Following this, they had two consecutive wins against North Brunswick and Oak Knoll. With their 2017-2018 record of 15-4-1, the team is excited for the season ahead of them.
Since last season, the girls soccer team lost 14 seniors, leaving a new and fresh young team for this upcoming season.
With the addition of 14 new players, the team ranges from freshmen to seniors. The team is led by coaches Kevin Ewing and Matthew Tiedemann, as well as team captains junior Gabrielle Aloe and senior Maggie Traina.
“There are a lot of new people on the team so we’ve been spending the first few weeks bonding and getting to know each other and everyone’s playing styles.” said Traina.  
The team has been practicing and working hard since the first day of tryouts on August 13th. The girls have been preparing almost everyday of the week in hopes of winning yet another county final.
A lot of teams lost a lot of people. The competition is different because teams lost someone of their key players.
“I think we’ve been improving everyday and we push each other to improve or weaknesses so that being said winning counties is not out of the teams reach.” Traina said.
The team’s hard work and dedication pays off as their preseason indicates a strong and powerful season ahead. Varsity goalie, Maya Kessler, was voted the top preseason goalie of the year on MyCentralJersey.com.
“As a team we are starting to ‘click’ which helps us very much in attacking and defending.” said senior Celeste Blanks
Striving for their 9th consecutive county champion title, the team has been hard at work both on and off the field.  With practices almost everyday of the week, preseason scrimmages, and training in the weight room, the girls are still constantly working to reach their full potential.  
“I hope we continue winning against teams that are in our county. Hopefully continue the streak of county champions alive.” said Blanks
They strive to do well against our biggest competitions, such as Westfield and Cranford.
Players on the team are considering or have decided to continue their soccer careers after high school and into college.  
Traina has committed to playing soccer after high school at Montclair State University for next fall.
Although the team has lost a decent amount of seniors from last year, that doesn’t stop them from focusing on their goals for this season.
The girls are still determined and motivated as ever to bring home yet another county title for Scotch Plains-Fanwood.