Hampton first-year girls soccer coach Chris Garraffa wants his players to focus on possibility, not perfection.
Garraffa has instilled an attacking mindset in his debut season with the WPIAL Class 3A playoff-bound Talbots, emphasizing increased scoring chances above pinpoint passes.
“We are willing to go to the goal immediately compared to bringing the ball down, passing it around, holding possession and waiting for the exact perfect moment,” he said. “We’re OK with having more good moments than fewer great moments.”
The Talbots had some of both in a 3-1 playoff-clinching victory over Shaler in Section 1-3A action Oct. 8. The victory avenged a 4-2 loss at Shaler earlier this season.
“The biggest thing that we’ve started to do better is our overall aggressiveness,” Garraffa said. “Playing higher up the field and pressing from the front with our front three, that was something they didn’t do much previously, if at all.”
Senior attacking midfielder Molly Interthal, who had a goal and an assist in the victory over Shaler, said the Talbots have become more comfortable with a playing style that prioritizes scoring chances more than possession.
“We’ve talked about that a lot,” she said. “We’re a team of perfectionists, I would say, but sometimes the ugly pass is the one that gets us the goal.”
Hampton (9-6-1, 5-4-1), which finished third in the section behind WPIAL Class 3A powers Fox Chapel and Mars, was scheduled to learn its first-round postseason opponent when the brackets were released Oct. 15. The playoffs were slated to start Oct. 18, after the deadline for this edition.
The seniors are seeking their first postseason victory. The Talbots have lost in the first round three years in a row.
“As a group, we know we can do great things,” said Interthal, a Slippery Rock recruit and the Talbots’ leading scorer. “I think it’s just believing in one another and believing in what we’ve built and what we can do. We should be pretty confident.”
The Talbots have proven that, at their best, they can play with anyone. They beat No. 4 Mars, 2-1, in their first meeting and put a scare into No. 2 Fox Chapel in a midseason 2-1 overtime loss. They also hung with WPIAL Class 4A No. 5 Norwin (14-2) in a 1-0 nonsection loss Oct. 11.
Hampton has reached the WPIAL playoffs for the 10th consecutive season despite a first-year girls coach, a youthful lineup that includes only four seniors and a first-year goalie who had never played in net before.
“We’ve had our ups and downs,” said Garraffa, who coached the boys team at District 3 Lampeter-Strasburg the previous five seasons. “As a team, we’ve had to work through some items that were a little bit more difficult.”
Junior Clare Scholtz, a converted forward, won the goalie job in the preseason as Garraffa sought a keeper athletic enough to help facilitate his attacking game plan.
“Coming into this season,” he said, “we didn’t know what we wanted to do with our goalkeeping situation.”
Scholtz has excelled in her new role. While she missed the 4-2 loss to Shaler with an illness, the Talbots have posted six shutouts in 14 games.
“She has shown up huge for us,” Garraffa said. “I’m not sure at the beginning that she wanted to be a goalkeeper. I think she wanted to do what was best for the team. Now, she not only has improved her game, but I think she is starting to enjoy being a goalkeeper.”
Scholtz is getting consistent help from her backline of senior Adele Cole and juniors Kate Lewis and Lexi Shane.
Seniors Emma Langer and Maddi Ashford control the midfield, while freshman striker Natalie Shane, the Talbots’ second-leading scorer, joins junior Harper Gibbons, sophomore Esme Farmakis and freshman Leah Rihn on a young, promising front line.
The Talbots are a tight-knit group, on and off the field. From a cornhole tournament and pasta parties to a car-wash fundraiser and big bonfire get-together, the players share a special chemistry.
“They do things fairly regularly to make sure they are all staying united and together,” Garraffa said, “which is more than half the battle.”