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BRONXVILLE, N.Y. -- Dont expect the Bronxville girls varsity soccer team to become complacent this season after winning the 2010 New York State Class B championship. Senior Shannon Crawford explained that she and her teammates worked diligently last year in order to win the title they so coveted. Now that the Broncos have, they dont plan on relinquishing hold of it that easy.
Bronxville was in the afternoon session Wednesday, after beginning its day with a 6 a.m. practice.
Even after we won we realized the next day that we have to put in twice the amount of work to defend it and prove what we can do, said Crawford, a four-year varsity player and 2010 all-state selection.
Crawford and her classmates -- Grace Devlin (all-state), Amy Pepe, Catherine Bianco, Ashley Geitl, Abby Brand, Taylor Reynolds, and Jessica Tarangioli -- had the team prepared for preseason with summer workouts.
Once school ended, we held captains practices, said Crawford, who plans on playing soccer in college. You have to be self-motivated during the summer and everyone did a really good job of this and staying in shape.
Prior to Wednesday, Bronxville opened the week by going to a camp in Port Jervis, along with the boys varsity soccer team. Crawford said the workouts were very rewarding and brought the team even closer together. Crawford was so excited about practice Wednesday, that she didnt mind waking up with the sunrise for the 6 a.m. start. She said everyone was on time and ready to go.
Preseason is one of my favorite times all season because everyone works together and you can get a good feel of how the season will go, Crawford said. The morning practice went well and Crawford said the afternoon practice was going smoothly.
We have never been a kick and run team, Crawford said. Our strength is possession of the ball and it has been working well and felt great. Even the new girls have been great with this.
Bronxville understands that teams will be putting all of their efforts into beating the defending Class B state champion. The team knows what to expect because they were determined to beat Briarcliff last year, after losing to the Bears in the 2009 Section 1 Class B final. Bronxville did beat Briarcliff last year for the title.
All of us are together and so bonded that we are going to take it one game at a time, Crawford said. We feel with the girls and coaches we have, we can do great things if we work hard enough.
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