BY: JEREMY GOODE
(VIDEOS BY JEREMY GOODE FOR PSD)
BRYN MAWR, PA-- Over the past three seasons in the Inter-Ac, The Baldwin School earned one win.
On Thurs., Oct. 16, they earned their second league win of the season, beating Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, 4-1. It is the second time Baldwin beat Notre Dame this season, the first time on the road, where they beat the Irish, 2-0.
While they are not where they would like to be in terms of competitiveness in the Inter-Ac, they are making progress.
“That’s the first time we swept Notre Dame in years,” Baldwin head coach Adrian Cox said.
The great thing about Baldwin’s soccer program is that it is shaping up in the right direction. They are simply winning more games than they have in years. The win against Notre Dame makes them 9-5-1 on the season. The last time they won at least nine games was during the 2019 season.
The wins are a nice indicator of change, but the roster itself really shows promise for upcoming seasons going forward. This Baldwin team does not have one senior. While this can be a disadvantage to high school teams in any sport, it forces Baldwin’s soccer team to grow up quicker.
And it is a young Baldwin team. They have three juniors, five sophomores, and a whopping eight freshman. Talent wise, there is a lot to like about the team, especially in the coming years.
Co-captain Makena Lee, a junior, is committed to Cornell for soccer, and has led Baldwin over the years, and this year she leads in scoring. Her classmate, Anaka Boyd-Volz, has been a strong goaltender for a team that in previous years have gone through a carousel of options in goal. Junior second co-captain Kyla Walker provides experienced defense and leadership.
Baldwin junior co-captain Makena Lee pictured in game vs. ND on 9/24 scored her 81st goal in game vs. ND on 10/16 (Photo/ Kathy Leister for PSD)
Claire Hsia and Ally Walker are two freshman who have already provided major sparks in Baldwin’s attack and scoring effort. Both are physical and hustle on every play, qualities you do not see often with ninth graders.
“It’s definitely a little intimidating with other teams that have really big seniors that have really good leadership,” Hsia said. “I feel like we have good junior and sophomore leadership that we all look up to, so, it kind of takes the place of the seniors.”
What could be an inexperience gap for Baldwin has instead led to positive results. Baldwin plays complementary, competitive soccer. They played the current first place Episcopal Academy close, as well as Springside Chestnut Hill. They have nearly doubled their wins on the year as compared with their losses.
Baldwin continued its growth as a team while also earning its ninth win of the season hosting Notre Dame. The game plan was what it often is: get the ball to Lee. Lee scored all four of Baldwin’s goals, recording a hat trick in the first half. Whether it was passing the ball up to Lee, which she would take 40 yards to goal, or getting it to her inside the 18 and having her make a quick move for space to get a shot off, it all worked. She scored in several ways.
Her four goals increased her total to 81 in her high school career at Baldwin, and she is now tied for the most goals in the history of the program.
“It is pretty cool because she is someone to look up to,” Hsai said. “Obviously, she is such a good player, and it is cool to be able to play with her and give her the ball so she can score. It’s really cool watching someone like that play.”
Game Highlights
For Walker, while Lee might not be a senior, she is the one Walker and her team look up to for leadership, on the field and off the field.
“We learn a lot from her,” Walker said. “She gets me to play faster on the ball which helps me to connect my passes.”
Offensively and defensively, everything was working for Baldwin in the first half, and they entered the final 40 minutes up 3-0.
In the second half, Baldwin protected their lead. Notre Dame’s Ava Hall scored five minutes into the second half. For the next half hour of play, the score remained 3-1, until Lee scored her fourth goal with five minutes left to effectively put the game out of reach.
Baldwin took 10 shots, converting on 40 percent for goals. Boyd-Volz recorded six saves for Baldwin.
It was a complete, dominant performance for Baldwin. In the big picture, it is a stepping stone for the future.
“It allows us to grow as a team, because we are going to have the same people for a while,” Walker said.
The sweep against Notre Dame is nice, but like Walker said, the positives of the season will be most telling in building over the next few seasons. Baldwin has title aspirations based on their depth of young and talented players.
Ally Walker and Claire Hsia on Baldwin's Youth and Strong Future
It is hard to criticize their thinking given what they are building.
“I can see us in the future, maybe dominating the Inter-Ac,” Hsai said.
For now, Baldwin still must play Episcopal, Penn Charter, and Springside Chestnut Hill for a second time, as well as Germantown Academy and Agnes Irwin. A tough stretch, but one that could influence their play beneficially for next season.