After each of Lake Worth Christian’s scores in Monday’s 2-0 win over Boca Raton Christian, sweeper Olivia Milian yelled out from the Defenders’ defense.
“Play like it’s 0-0!”
Teammates say those reminders keep the squad grounded in a season when the Defenders have avoided spending much time in 0-0 situations. Instead, they’ve rode strong offensive and defensive performances to outscore opponents 104-1 en route to a 15-0 record.
Lake Worth Christian’s dominance isn’t lost on its coach, Adam Fabel. He said he knew a couple games into the season that this year could be a special one for his team, adding “a lot of times it’s a privilege to just come out here and sit and watch them play.”
The Defenders’ success is due in large part to the team’s dedication to preparing well, he said.
“Their preparation on the practice field and before even stepping on the field, I mean you can tell I’ve got a special group of girls,” Fabel said. “And there’s times where I just sit back and I’m amazed.”
With only one goal allowed all season, Fabel said his team’s defense is perhaps its greatest strength. He and stopper Angelina Adolphy both point to Milian, still only a freshman, as a great asset for the unit.
“She’s smart. She’s quick,” Fabel said. “She’s always there.”
But Fabel clarified that it’s also a team effort. He said the Defenders are a complete squad across the field. They boast two forwards who account for nearly half of the team’s scores and a goalie, Isabella Urso, who made five saves in Lake Worth Christian’s game against Boca Raton Christian, including one in diving fashion with about 8:15 left in the second half.
“I go in there thinking that, you know, we should be able to outscore any team,” Fabel said. “So if we give up a goal, our forwards are that good and our defense is that good where we should score more.”
The drive to win extends beyond the team’s starters, senior Victoria Dolen said. The center midfielder said that what the bench players don’t have in experience, they make up for with their passion for playing the game hard.
Lake Worth Christian’s depth gives it the ability to play with a lot of energy deep into games, something that hasn’t always been the case in the past, Dolen said.
It’s been a four-year process to get to this point, Dolen said. Playing together through that multi-year climb, coupled with experience playing together in travel soccer, has worked to the Defenders’ advantage, she said.
“It has really helped us get good chemistry and we’ve learned how to play on the field together, and I think that’s what’s showing a lot this year,” Dolen said.
One year removed from losing 2-1 in the Class 1A Region 3 quarterfinals to St. John Paul II Academy, Dolen said the team still has work to do the rest of the season. She wants to finish her high school soccer career with a regional title.
The talent on Lake Worth Christian’s roster has Adolphy believing her team can go deeper into the postseason.
“I’m thinking bigger because we’re losing a lot of seniors this year and everybody always helps out,” Adolphy said. “So I would like to even go further than that because this is like the one year we really have a chance to do this.”
LAKE WORTH CHRISTIAN GIRLS SOCCER TEAM IS 15-0 AND OUTSCORED OPPONENTS, 104-1
