St. anthony Girls’ soccer Faces Rebuild with Experienced Leadership
LONG BEACH, CA – The St. anthony High School girls’ soccer team enters the season with a young roster, comprised primarily of underclassmen, but bolstered by experienced leadership aiming to continue the program’s recent success. The Saints, coming off a strong previous season, will rely on a core of returning players and promising newcomers to navigate a competitive schedule.
The team features only one senior, captain Jaelyn Moreno, a four-year varsity player who has transitioned from attacker to center back to address a team need.”That’s who she is, that’s her leadership,” said coach Perez. “She brings that energy level and she’s talking and really taking on that role.” Moreno expressed her readiness to mentor the younger players, including her sister, Jeweliana Moreno. “We lost a lot of seniors and we have a smaller team now, but with our incoming freshman we have a good chance of going somewhere,” she said. “We’re talking to them really positively and getting them to not be scared to try new things, to help them grow. I wont to be a good example to them.”
Joining Moreno as captains are junior goalkeeper leila Meza, who returns after recovering from an ACL tear that sidelined her last season, and junior defender adanna Mjeme, who moved to defense last year after starting as an attacker. Coach Perez noted Meza’s dedication to her rehabilitation, saying, “She’s been training her but off, she’s strengthening her knee, and she talked to me about how much it sucked being on the bench last year and how excited she is to be back out there this year.”
Key offensive contributors are expected to be sophomores Paloma toscano and Tatiana Callejas,alongside Jeweliana Moreno. Toscano and Moreno both scored 12 goals last season, while Callejas scored a crucial, last-second goal that secured the team’s playoff berth. Freshman Alice Landis, a multi-sport athlete, is also projected to play a significant role in the midfield.
Despite the team’s youth, coach Perez is optimistic. “As long as the girls keep attending practice and gelling, the biggest thing to me is communicating with each other, making sure they work towards what they want together,” she said. “Our returners are telling me,’Coach we got this,we’re going to keep building.'” Perez anticipates the team will peak as the season progresses towards the playoffs.
