Editor’s note: This write up was provided by the Pelham Girls Travel U-11 Wolfpack.
The Pelham Girls Travel U-11 Wolfpack have won the Spring 2023 Premiere Division, after coming in second place in the Premiere Division last fall by just 1 point. The Wolfpack has been excelling since the team began during COVID in Fall of 2020 and hasn’t looked back since! Last spring, the Wolfpack were New York State Cup Finalists, playing both the semifinals and finals in Huntington, Long Island. This past Memorial Day weekend, the girls competed in a highly competitive national tournament—FC Delco—down in Exton PA, where they lost in the semifinals to a top local club team 4-3. And the highlight of the spring was being honored at halftime at the May 13, 2023 Red Bulls game!
The Wolfpack players, in alphabetical order, are: Simone Ayers (#1), Hannah Burke (#3), Rosalie Candela (#7), Kendall Clark (#5), Clara Condon (#71), Lane Erario (#12), Gabby Gamaldo (#19), Sive Jeffries (#9), Scarlett Helmers (#20), Carmen Lesser (#26), Lulu O’Connor (#8), Haley Ragno (#22), Reilly Stano (#23), and Neala Thompson (#17).
The team is coached by Red Bulls Coach Robin Patton—an extraordinary coach, who played semi-pro in the Oberliga League in Germany, for the Region XIX winner Mercy Community College, then Cal State. Robin is an Assistant Coach for Hunter College men’s soccer, and this past summer, he spent a month in Germany and obtained the UEFA-B coaching license. Robin is a soccer whisperer of sorts—as he is able to bring out the very best in these girls, both on and off the field. The team is also led by parent coaches Kristen Burke and Matt Thompson. Kristen was a 4-year starter at Harvard from 1993-1997 (3-time Ivy League Champions, 1997 Division I NCAA quarterfinalists) and as a youth, she played on the Region I Team for the Olympic Development Program. Matt was a four-year start for Occidental College in LA from 1993-1997. He then coached for the boys JV and Varsity soccer programs at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame HS in Southern California. Matt also played in the semi-pro league in LA from 1997-2000.
According to Coach Kristen Burke, what makes the Wolfpack so extraordinary is the dedication on the part of all of the players and parents to being a competitive town team, in contrast to so many town teams that lose players to club teams. We have already seen several good Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL) teams fold due to players leaving for club. Pelham hopes to remain the exception to this rule. Beyond the incredible commitment on the part of all of the players and their families, I am so incredibly proud of how the girls carry themselves on and off the field. At the end of this season, I had two opposing coaches approach me and tell me how impressed they were with the sportsmanship of our players and parents. We are setting a tone of positivity that is not always easily done in youth sports.
The Wolfpack would like to thank Pelham Travel President Rob McGovern and the entire Pelham Travel board for their tremendous support and commitment, which has led to the Wolfpack’s progress.
Look out for the Wolfpack over the next several years, as we plan to continue excelling and defying the odds for a small local town team! Go Wolfpack, ahwooooo!!
