By Bill Alden

The pieces are in place for the Hun School girls’ soccer team to be competitive this fall.

“We have a lot of young talent joined by our strong upperclass,” said Hun head coach Jenn Barrett, whose team went 0-4-1 last fall in a season abbreviated by COVID-19 concerns.

“We really don’t have many weak spots, we should really hold our own this year. We have solid, solid players in every position.”

The Raiders boast three solid players at forward in senior Olivia D’Aulerio, sophomore Tessa Falcone, and sophomore Mackenzie Turner.

“We are super excited that Olivia will have more help up top, we are really going to try to use her speed because she is so fast,” said Barrett of the trio who each scored a goal along with junior Lauren Soler as Hun defeated Moorestown Friends 4-1 last Monday to improve to 1-1.

“Tessa and MacKenzie are both high-level experienced club players so they will be able to feed her the ball and they have a nose for the goal also.”

In the midfield, junior Riley Hayes, sophomore Olivia Spektor, and freshman Julia Espinosa should give Hun some high-level play.

“With Riley, her footwork and her game sense stand out,” said Barrett.

“Her speed of play is excellent and her soccer knowledge is amazing. With Spektor, her size is great. She has an amazing shot that she can easily take from outside the 18. She is also super-fast, she is going to be a good offensive threat. Espinosa is very technical. She is a very smart player and she can distribute through the middle.”

Junior Toni Olaleye, senior Kiki Maurer, and sophomore Gabby Rollins will be leading the way along the Raider back line.

“We are going to have Toni in the back,  she is amazing,” said Barrett.

“I am also probably going to have Kiki in the back. She can also play midfield. Those two are a consistent part of the team. They are the most coachable, unselfish players and you can play them wherever you want them to play. I also have Gabby Rollins back there.”

At goalie, sophomore Zoey Palmer is back at full strength after dealing with a hurt wrist last fall.

“Zoey is looking as good as ever, she has recovered from her injury,” said Barrett.

“She is amazing. She is really great with her feet, she could easily be a starting field player. She is going to be our anchor back there in goal, she is great with her hands. She is an extremely hard worker. She really wants to get better every single day, she is always looking for feedback.”

In Barrett’s view, Hun can have a great season if it can augment the talent on hand with a positive mindset.

“Everyone gets along very well, we have great team chemistry,” said Barrett, whose squad plays at Princeton Day School on September 15 before hosting Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) on September 18 and North Hunterdon High on September 20.

“Everyone has common goals of being the best that we are capable of being. I think for us to be successful, it is just using our strengths and working together as a team.”