By: Claire Gilles

After luckily being able to complete a full summer league season, Conard Soccer girls were very excited to enter into the 2020 season, despite the various setbacks. With the obvious COVID-19 precautions being taken, the CIAC ruled that soccer would play an abbreviated season against limited teams. Compared to previous years, following the CIAC's schedule, tryouts were extended for much longer than normal, with the whole process taking around a month. On September twentieth, teams were decided. The season began with the first scrimmage against Northwest on September twenty-sixth.

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During the 2019 season, ten seniors on the varsity team often helped lead the team to victory. Tasked with creating a roster to make up for these lost players, head coach Megan Cersosimo brought up underclassmen and juniors whose skill set would be valuable to the team. Coach Cersosimo stepped in as head coach over the summer when the previous head Coach Massaro was unable to act as coach for the 2020 season. Assisted by Coach Liz Tracy, Cersosimo was able to fill a well-rounded team with a full bench.

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Conard ended up playing a total of seven teams, all consisting of nearby towns. Playing a total of fourteen games, Conard started off the first half of their season with four losses, one win, and one tie. Before heading into the second half of the season, Conard girls varsity was able to make the changes needed to turn their record around. During the final seven games of the season, the girls only lost one game and tied one, winning five out of the seven games. During their seventh game, the team had their last tough loss against the town of Simsbury. Throughout their final six games, facing tough competition, only two goals were scored against Conard. Both of them were by Hall during their second game against the cross-town rival. Conard girls proved to be fierce competitors, winning these final games by small margins of only one to three goals, showing the strength of their defense. The most important games to the team were against their biggest competition, Hall High School.

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Varsity played a total of three games against Hall throughout the season. Their first game was a tough 0-3 loss, and their second game was a 2-2 tie. Going into their final game, Conard showed growth and were a strong team defensively and offensively. In the final game of the season and many seniors' last game, Conard won by one goal scored in the first half of the game. After a stressful season facing complications resulting from COVID-19, it was a great way to end the 2020 season. The team remained safe all fall with no coronavirus cases and no significant problems as a result of the pandemic. Thrilled to have a full 2020 season despite the changes from normal scheduling, a hard-fought victory against Hall ended the fall season, and the seniors' high school careers, on a high note.