The Yeshiva University women’s soccer team is undergoing a new beginning as the team gets set for the 2014 season. The Maccabees have a new head coach patrolling the sidelines in 2014 as Yeshiva welcomes in Gabe Haber to the helm. Haber’s most recent appointment was a two- year stint as assistant men’s soccer coach at Concordia College, which is an NAIA institution in Michigan. “I am very excited to join the Yeshiva University athletics family,” Haber said upon his hiring. “I am looking forward to growing the women’s soccer team and taking it to new heights.”
Yeshiva is coming off a one win season last year, with its lone victor being a 10-0 shellacking over Medgar Evers College. This season, with a solid number of returnees, along with key newcomers, the Maccabees will look to be competitive in their quest to win the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) championship.
The top returnee this season includes Merav Saden Barach (Teaneck, N.J., Bruriah). Last season Saden Barach led the team in goals with seven, while adding one assist for a team-high 15 points. Another Bergen County returnee is goalkeeper Elana Kook (Teaneck, N.J., Ma’ayanot Yeshiva). Kook played in seven games last season and saved 33 shots and had a.733 saves percentage.
“Our goal is to improve from last year. We want to be more competitive with our opponents and show the league we are an up and coming team,” said Haber. “We will surprise a lot of teams this year with our improvements.
Unfortunately, the Yeshiva women’s soccer team was defeated by Lehman College, 8-1, on the road in the 2014 season opener last Friday afternoon. The host Lightning struck for eight goals in the second half to pull away in the final stanza. After a scoreless tie at halftime, the Maccabees struck first and took a 1-0 lead just 2:48 into the second half when Merav Saden Barach put a shot past the Lehman goalkeeper. After Yeshiva’s initial lead, Lehman scored eight unanswered goals over a 34-minute span en route to the win. Lehman’s Lillian Barreto led the way with three second half goals, while teammate Juliana Generoso added two.
Yeshiva starting goalkeeper Elana Kook made eight saves for the Maccabees, including six in the first half. Lehman goalkeeper Stephanie Gonzalez made one save for the Lightning.
By YUMACS.COM
