On Friday, November 6th, the Masuk Girls Soccer team began their fight for back-to-back State Championships by playing the #26 seeded Bullard-Havens Tech, 4-11-2 in the regular season. Masuk earned the #7 seed in the Class L tournament and came out of their regular season with a record of 12-3-3, after losing in the SWC Conference Tournament Semi-Finals.
With high expectations on this team after last year’s championship, the Panthers made sure not to disappoint. The 9-0 win for the Panthers came from incredible set-ups by the midfield and offense. This shutout came as both senior goalies Callie Rubin and Sara Bento spent time in goal.
The Panthers were led by Sophomores Claire Fulchino and Olivia Fanning, who each scored multiple times in the contest.
Two of Fanning’s goals came in the first ten minutes, while Fulchino started her scoring day by getting her first at the end of the first half.
“I’m super, super proud of them, coming off of obviously a really big year last year, winning the first state championship, we lost nine seniors, seven starters, they have stepped up tremendously, incredible, I’m so proud,” said Head Coach Katy Kreiner.
Kreiner is 43-10-12 since she became Head Coach of the Panthers two years ago, including leading the program to their first ever state championship in 2025. In her first two seasons Krenier’s teams went 11-4-5 and 20-3-4 respectively.
“We have a very young team, I think it’s just getting to know each other and playing together, you know, it’s a very new team,” Krenier added. “Keeping the ball on the ground, possession, has been one thing we have really been focusing on, and staying compact. I think that as we execute that better, we play better.”
Kreiner shared that the team has been playing more compactly and more through the middle towards their technical players to take advantage of their footwork, compared to previously relying on speed and wider-area strategies.
Rain is always a cause for an interesting game in any sport, and Friday’s matchup was no exception. The heavy rain throughout the day certainly made the Masuk turf harder to maneuver than usual, but none of the players let that stop them from putting out incredible performances. With several All-South-West-Conference (SWC) players on the team, though, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Players who are part of that group, such as junior forward Natalia “Tiny” Fabryk, defenders junior Julia Hourigan, senior Semia Zylick and sophomore’s Elena Granata and Bella Bost showcased their strong ball control and footwork, working in close movements as they took the ball up the field. Defensively, Hourigan and Zylick intercepted the ball on many plays and stopped any attempts by their opponents to bring the ball to their goal. Offensively, Granata made use of her speed and footwork to make several plays just outside of the goal box, while Fabryk created numerous scoring opportunities through the middle of the field.
Throughout the game, the team demonstrated great communication, created varied plays that would lead to scoring opportunities, and eventually, goals. This style of play is one of the many reasons why the team has been so successful since the start of the year, and it doesn’t look like it will change any time soon.
Though not a challenging game in many ways for Masuk, the team’s emphasis on possession plays revealed how much potential the team has this year. Players used their time with the ball to demonstrate individual talent and how that talent adds to the team’s success on the field.
“I think they have what it takes to go all the way again this year. This team is not as strong as some of the other competition we are going to see, but it’s a good way to start the state tournament for sure,” said Kreiner.
The team had a great tournament opener this past Friday and will continue defending their title this Tuesday, November 10 at home against #10 Rocky Hill at a time yet to be determined. If you can, try to make it out to see them play, because if yesterday was any indication, they are ready to win it all again.
Leave a Reply