Churchill Soccer Teams Prepare for Start of Season

GIRLS

Entering his 10th season as Winston Churchill’s girl’s soccer coach, Haroot Hakopian is hoping this is finally the year the Bulldogs can get over the hump and claim the first regional championship in school history.

has reached three regional finals under Hakopian, including each of the last two seasons, but is still in search of that elusive first regional title.

The Bulldogs fell to eventual state champion Bethesda-Chevy Chase, 1-0, in last year’s Class 4A West championship game.

“That’s what we’re going after,” Hakopian said. “We’re going after that regional championship.”

Churchill returns five starters from last season’s team that finished 12-2-1, including top scorer Jenna Cantor. Cantor, a senior, has ranked either first or second on the team in scoring ever since her freshman season. She scored 12 goals last year. Hakopian said of Cantor, “Everything we do on attack starts with her.”

Cantor will be joined at forward by junior Colby Ranck, a very speedy playmaker. Junior Zoe Forstor, meanwhile, will anchor the midfield while senior Jackie Lambergman will lead the Bulldogs’ defense. Hakopian described Lambergman as “one of the most important players on the field for us.”

Junior goalie Becca Ewell is also a returning starter.

And while Churchill is forced to replace several key seniors from last season’s team, Hakopian is optimistic the Bulldogs’ young players will help pick up the slack. He mentioned sophomore midfielder Carly Shapiro as someone he’s “looking for big things out of.”

Churchill is 26-3-1 during the last two years, outscoring its opponents by a dominant, 97-9, margin during that span. Hakopian is looking to take it one step further this year, though, hoping the Bulldogs can finally claim that first regional championship.

“We want what we haven’t had,” Hakopian said. “We want to get back to the regional championship game and we want to win it.”

BOYS

Like its female counterparts, Churchill’s boys team is also aiming to compete for a regional championship, but realizes this year may ultimately serve as more of a building block for the future for his young team.

Churchill returns just two of its 11 starters from last season’s team.

“I don’t really have any expectations given that we are very, very young,” said Tarzy, in his fourth season as the Bulldogs’ head coach.

“My goal is to see the young guys develop, integrate and establish good habits so they’re ready to step up next year, if not this year.”

Defender Eric Ossola and goalie Eli Lorenzi, both seniors, are the only returning starters from last year’s team that finished 9-5-2 and reached the Class 4A West semifinals before falling to eventual state champion Magruder. Prior to the loss to Magruder, the Bulldogs had gone nine straight games without a loss, posting a 7-0-2 record during that stretch.

But while Tarzy envisions it being difficult to replace last year’s senior class, as well as transfer Tobias Kastan, he is excited about the potential of several of this season’s players, especially junior forward Crispin Muessle and senior midfielder Felipe Ros.

He describes Ros as a “very skillful” player in the midfield and Muessle as a player “that will score a ton of goals.” Muessle missed most of last season with a stress fracture in his vertebrae, but returned for the latter part of the year, helping the Bulldogs as they went on their late season run.

“My desire is to, at worst, compete in every game,” Tarzy said.

“At best, I still think we should compete in the region. If the young guys [develop], though, I think at the very least we should contend for a state championship next year, if not this year.”