Girls soccer countdown: No. 5 team is hungrier than ever after shocking state loss
Team: Ramsey
Coach: Drew Strohmeyer
Last year's record: 16-2-1
2022 final ranking: No. 5
Rearview mirror
Not many boroughs have a better pedigree on the pitch than Ramsey.
The Rams have claimed four sectional titles in the last decade and finished with a winning record in every season this century. A standard of excellence runs from coach to coach from George Wright to Kevin Sabella to current bench boss Drew Strohmeyer.
Last season was a mix of brilliance and heartbreak. Ramsey rolled to the Big North Patriot title and a spot in the Bergen County semifinal with the No. 1 defense in North Jersey. But a dream year ended with a stunning shootout loss to Old Tappan in the North 1, Group 2 semis. The Rams dominated possession as the top seed, but ran into a hot goalie at the worst time.
"We had a team that was good enough to win the whole thing last year," Strohmeyer said. "Overall last year was a good year, but the girls are hungry. They are working extremely hard. The outlook is very good. We graduated three starters from last year's squad so we have a lot coming back and a lot behind them."
Best assets
Ramsey is a deep and experienced team that will be hard to crack. The entire defense returns with a year of experience led by junior All-County centerback Katie Rubin. Senior Alexa Friedland and junior Maddy Landel will line up beside her after holding opponents to nine goals in 19 games last season.
One of the other luxuries for the coaching staff is the ability to keep everyone fresh in the midfield. Juniors Natalia Kull and Sophia Dallara (6 goals, 8 assists) will run the show there with Rubin's sister, Lizzie, who's one of three talented freshmen set to play varsity.
The aim for Strohmeyer is to be more dangerous in the final third after getting shut out in all three losses in 2022. Helping matters on that front is the return of the team's leading scorer: senior forward Nina Davis (10 goals, 9 assists). Senior forward Maggie Sauer is another proven player who could be the X-factor after coming back from an ACL injury.
FROM 10 TO ONE: Counting down North Jersey's best girls and boys soccer teams entering the 2023 season
Expectations
The word Strohmeyer keeps coming back to is hungry. This is a team that's been chomping at the bit to get started after a cruel ending in November.
The Rams should be able to control play and make life easy for senior Uma Corcoran, who's favored to take over in net.
"We're moving the ball very well," Strohmeyer said. "We're putting the ball in the back of the net at a better clip than last year. So we're hoping for good things. We got to stay healthy and get some breaks and we'll see where the chips fall at the end of the season."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Ramsey NJ girls soccer hungrier than ever after shocking state loss
