Despite winning 14 games a season ago, longtime Lyndhurst girls soccer coach Kimberly Hykey called it “one of the most frustrating years ever,” due to all of the major injuries the Golden Bears suffered. If there was a silver lining to all of the injuries and misfortune is that it allowed a large group of sophomores to get significantly more varsity experience than previously anticipated.
That early varsity experience has paid off in a big way this year. Hykey’s junior and sophomore-heavy group has jumped out to an 8-2 record, its best start since 2020.
“There’s a good in every situation and you can find the good if you look hard enough,” said Hykey. “That definitely is something that some of these kids are now benefiting from because they got a lot more minutes than they would have.”
Despite just two seniors on the roster, this year’s Lyndhurst team is the deepest it’s been in recent memory. Twelve different Bears have scored a goal and depth on the backline has allowed Lyndhurst to overcome some injuries on the defensive end.
Even in goal, Lyndhurst has more depth than usual as Hykey has, for the first time, employed co-goalkeepers with junior Adriana Canaris and sophomore Madison Goff splitting the role. Canaris typically starts with Goff, who can also play the field, coming on in the second half.
Both have been stellar, combining to make 61 saves with five shutouts to fill a huge void left by the graduation of current Monmouth University keeper Kieran Meehan.
“I hate splitting goalies,” Hykey said. “I don’t like it. I never liked it. I like to have a starter and that’s it. But we have two really talented kids that both deserve to play.”
Due to injuries, it’s been a bit of a revolving door on the Lyndhurst backline. One constant though has been junior Nicole Marnik at one center back spot. Fellow junior Taylor Paglio has been primarily at left back, but has also seen some time at the other center back spot. When healthy, junior Ava Shapiro has been a mainstay at right outside back. Freshmen Rylie Garing and Amanda Figuereido and sophomore Kiara Solarzano have all seen major minutes in the back. Junior Sophia Yandola is also vying for time.
Two starting defenders from a year ago – junior Emma Marnik and sophomore Lena Marino – have moved up to the midfield to help boost an offense that struggled to score last year. Marino in particular, has found a home as a center midfielder after initially being on the outside, recording three goals and a team-best seven assists this season. Emma Amaral, a junior, has also carved out a key role in the center.
Marnik has played on the right outside midfield. Daniela Barbieri had three goals and three assists from the left side, but recently went down with a knee injury, pushing juniors Zana Lacka and Hailey Welton into more prominent roles moving forward.
Junior Avery Garing has been the main holding center midfielder.
Lyndhurst’s two seniors – Nikalena Iacono and Zeynep Celik – start at forward. Iacono, a four-year varsity player, has had a breakout start with six goals and five assists, while Celik has scored four goals. Goff, when she’s not in goal, Ridhi Gowda and Logan LaCorte provide added depth at striker.
The Bears look to continue their strong start with independent games at Rutherford on Tuesday and Kearny on Thursday. On Oct. 7, Lyndhurst begins the second half of its division slate with a home contest against North Arlington. Lyndhurst, North Arlington and Waldwick are currently tied for the NJIC Meadowlands Division lead at 4-1.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)