The end of the line has arrived for the Island Trees Liberty Soccer team. They have been playing together since they were 9 years old.
Their last game was played on June 20, as the girls are either in or getting ready for college. A total of 30 girls have been Liberty players throughout the years. Five of the girls have played all nine years and 17 have played five years or more. They won the prestigious Wallingford Twist Tournament in 2004 and 2005, were Waldbaum’s champions in 2008 and 2009 and two-time state cup semifinalists. They were division champs in U10, U13 and U19 seasons.
“The real strength of this team was that the girls always respected each other and had fun playing the game,” said Coach Joe Badolato. “In the nine years I did not once hear any of the girls complain about mistakes made by fellow players.”
Co-coach Bob Merrill’s dedication was a major factor in this team staying together.
“No matter the weather or distance to travel, we could always count on them being there to cheer us on,” Badolato added.
