The fall high school sports season is a grueling three-month marathon that features many different periods of highs and lows. For the Lenape girls soccer and tennis programs, it has been nothing but highs to this point.
Both Lady Indian squads heated up the autumn weather by beginning their seasons a combined 19–0–1. Eighteen games played, zero ending in a loss. The expectation may be that if you ask the coaches what their reaction has been, you’d get a typical coach-speak answer about taking it one game at a time. Head tennis coach John Carnevale is a bit more honest.
“We didn’t anticipate a start like this. We’re not surprised, just excited,” Carnevale said. “Before the season, we expected to be somewhere in the middle of competitive and rebuilding, so I would be lying if I told you I thought we’d start 12–0, but we’re really excited about it.”
While the 10–0 start in itself is impressive, how the Lady Indians got there is even more so. Nine of the matches were decided by 5–0 or 4–1 margins, sophomore Gabrielle Shvartsman didn’t lose a match, first doubles team Melissa Olt and Serena Lam won 9 of 10, and it doesn’t end there.
“Our second doubles team is made up of two freshmen, Alexis Cao and Smriti Nair, who have been great for us and have really stepped up and played well,” Carnevale said.
The fast start to the season has pushed the girls even harder to continue their success, Carnevale said.
“Everyone wants to contribute. They want to improve. There is a good sense of camaraderie within the team right now. Everyone is pushing one another to get better every day,” Carnevale said. “They know you have to earn it every match, that the effort needs to be there as a constant.”
For the girls soccer team, it had hoped for a start like this to vault it back to the level it is accustomed to. From 2007 through 2011, Lenape won the State Group IV title every year, good for the second-longest streak of consecutive titles in the history of the state. If the team’s first eight games are any sign, it may be back at that level.
In its first eight games, the girls’ soccer team’s dominance has been evident on both the offensive and defensive ends. To open the season, Lenape went 7–0–1 with five shutouts. They outscored their opponents 30–5, allowing more than one goal in a game only once while having scored three goals or more in all of their contests. The person least surprised with the team’s fast start is head coach Kevin Meder.
“We had high expectations entering this season, so we were hoping to be where we are at right now,” Meder said. “Obviously, we’re excited and enjoying it, but we’re also keeping things in perspective. We know we haven’t accomplished anything yet. We’re only about a third of the way through the season, so there are a lot of games left to be played.”
Meder said his four captains will ensure that the team doesn’t get ahead of itself.
“Our four captains, Rachelle Ross, Courtney Norton, Kenie Wright and Lizzie Kinkler, have been tremendous. Leaders both on and off the field,” Meder said.
As for going forward, Meder believes the sky is the limit and that zero in the loss column can be there to stay.
“We try to win every game we play, and we believe that we can. It’s about playing at the level that we know we are capable of playing at,” he said.
