George P. Smith/For the Gazette
Thomas S. Wootton High School senior captain Jillian Goldschein (left) and Walt Whitman’s Lindsay Wytkind fight for control of the ball.
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Something happens to a close-knit high school girls’ soccer team during the postseason. When each and every game could be its last, players find a whole new level of motivation rooted in their desire to share one more practice together, another chance to compete as a group.
The Thomas S. Wootton High School girls’ soccer team felt that in late October for the first time in a long time and it led to the Patriots’ first Class 4A West Region final appearance in quite some time — they lost Nov. 5 to a Walt Whitman team that is scheduled to play Baltimore County’s Catonsville High on Saturday for the state title.
Along the way, Wootton beat the top seed in its section of the region, Quince Orchard, 3-2, in a hard-fought game during which it twice relinquished the lead before sealing the victory. Both Quince Orchard coach Peg Keiller and Whitman midfielder Aliza Wolfe commended the Patriots’ work rate.
“I think the most important thing for us was that no one wanted our season to end,” Wootton senior three-year varsity midfielder/defender Jillian Goldschein said. “It was different this year, everyone wanted to be together. Everyone was pushing for one more game. At team dinners we were thinking we didn’t want them to be our last team dinner; the thought process was that losing wasn’t an option.”
While the Patriots have not necessarily been completely overlooked by Montgomery County’s finest — the name alone reflects a rich history — they also have not instilled the same fear in their opponents the past four or five years that they did in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Wootton won the county’s first state title in 1998, the year girls’ soccer in Montgomery County was moved from spring to fall. The Patriots were a perennial playoff contender through the mid-2000s but have since struggled to eclipse the .500 mark. A revolving door of coaches — three in the last three years — and in-house conflict among teammates made it difficult for the Patriots to find stability, four-year varsity defender Molly Alkon said.
But something changed when the Patriots arrived on the first day of tryouts mid-August to meet newly hired Andrew Ratti, a 1989 Wootton graduate keen on righting the Patriots’ ship and bringing the program back to the level once expected of it.
“At first it was a shock, I didn’t even know we had a new coach until the day before tryouts, but I think hearing we had a new coach, everyone was kind of like, ‘OK, this is a new season, an opportunity to start fresh,’” Alkon said. “I think a good coach has trust in the team and especially in the girls and he didn’t throw things at us, he gave us a warning and explained his reasoning for everything. He’s always been open and willing to talk. He did mention that he used to play at Wootton and I think it’s more important to him to see us play for Wootton pride.”
The team certainly had reason to be concerned early as Ratti fiddled with the lineup and formation searching for the best combinations. A 2-6 start, as Ratti familiarized himself with the personnel and his players with him, indicated 2013 might be another down year for the Patriots. But Alkon and Goldschein agreed there was something telling them to trust him.
Right around the mid-season mark, Wootton’s willingness to let Ratti do his thing began to pay off and the Patriots turned a corner. They settled into an offense-minded 3-4-3 formation and found their go-to scorer in speedy striker sophomore Jazmyn Sollars (11 goals), whom Ratti said provides instant offense.
The region final loss was Wootton’s only defeat in its last nine games and the experience the Patriots gained this postseason is sure to benefit the many underclassmen who racked up quality minutes this fall. Ratti kept 29 players on his roster and 20 should be back next year. For the first time in a while, there’s a real buzz around Wootton soccer and it doesn’t look like it’s going to fade any time soon.
“It’s not just the Wootton name anymore, we backed it up,” Ratti said. “It’s been huge for us to get back [to this level]. From what I understand it’s been a struggle but the girls wanted it. They’re the ones that worked. I sensed they were ready for something different. They wanted a change, they accepted me and embraced me. They never questioned what I was trying to do. This is exciting, there’s a big future here with what we have and what we built.”
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