Germantown Academy senior tri-captain Ally Clark, who will play for Columbia University, has been an impact player for the Patriots since her freshman year. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

The departure of the Class of 2018 left the Germantown Academy girls with some big soccer shoes to fill, but the Patriots feel they have young players ready to step up and help with that task, filling in around a number of proven returning veterans.

Graduation claimed current Duke University freshman Mackenzie Pluck and the other 2017 team captains, Nicole Marion and Rachel Villari. Also gone are longtime mainstay Bailey Gilmore and the team’s tallest player, Annie Peterson, now playing for St. Joseph’s University.

Among the current senior class are two athletes who’ve been committed to Division I schools for some time, Ally Clark (Columbia) and Katie Hackley (Delaware). As expected, they return in starting roles along with their classmate and fellow tri-captain Riley Axenroth. A fourth senior, Julia Johnson, has given the Patriots good minutes off the bench in the past, and classmates Alexandra Hermann and Mackenzie O’Donnell are on the varsity roster this fall.

Hermann is one of the team’s goalkeepers; for GA’s home opener last Saturday morning Lily Altomare started in the cage and her junior classmate Meaghan Toscano (a shotput star in the spring season) played the second half.

Another 11th-grader, Kiley Kergides, was recovering from ACL surgery in 2017, but is back on the pitch this fall. She started last weekend against visiting Rye (N.Y.) Country Day School, as did juniors Eleni Kytzidis, Elizabeth Van Blarcom and Norwood Fontbonne Academy graduate Maddie Burns.

Other members of the large junior ensemble are Riley Allen, Sasha Capers, Sarah DiLello, Grace Kaupas and Grace McGettigan.

In contrast, the sophomore class is represented by just two players, Paige Lugossy and Devin Smith. Lugossy, who started on Saturday, is the sister of Ian Lugossy, who graduated off of the 2017 GA boys’ varsity.

The three freshmen who have made the top squad are Alex Goodridge and starters Lilly Funk and Cassidy Palazzo. Funk and Goodridge are also basketball players who saw their first varsity action for GA in an offseason hoops league over the summer.

Chris Nelson, Head of Upper School at Germantown Academy, is entering his eighth season as head coach for varsity soccer. Kellianne Kaput is back on the sidelines, but another longtime assistant, Katie Martin, has moved on.

Former GA and Princeton University standout Kacie Kergides (Kiley’s sister) is back as an assistant for a third season. Just joining the staff is Jami Dansingburg, who has been an assistant coach in several sports at a number of schools, including Springside Chestnut Hill and Germantown Friends.