Mimbas Striking for More

The Stuyvesant girls’ soccer team, the Mimbas, is looking to build off of a successful previous season and make another playoff appearance. Coming off a 6-5 record, a fourth place finish, and a first round playoff elimination, members of the team are still upbeat, believing that a solid core infused with new talent will carry them farther into the postseason than previous years.

This year will present several new obstacles for the team, such as adjusting to the higher level of competition in their new Manhattan A2 division and replacing the production of their three graduated seniors. Nevertheless, the girls are excited to make a name for themselves in an unfamiliar division. Senior and co-captain Charlotte Ruhl believes that this new division will bring more adversity, but remains steadfast that the team will adapt and that their skill set will shine.

Ruhl’s co-captain, senior Saloni Majmudar, agrees. “It’s definitely the most well-rounded and experienced team we’ve had in the past four years,” she said. The team has players in every grade for the first time in recent memory and the talent has allowed for a more competitive environment in practices.

The loss of the seniors, including second-highest goal scorer on the team Brigit Bacon-Blaber (‘17), will no doubt sting, but both captains believe that their players are ready and are more than capable of stepping up. “Although we lost three seniors, I think the team is even stronger this year,” Ruhl said. Sophomore Selene Kaehny, Stuyvesant’s leading goal-scorer from last year, will hopefully contribute to making the next step.

Likewise, Majmudar commented that the team will miss the constant positive energy of the seniors. However, the new talent has reassured her that they will have a successful season. They have taken steps to prepare for the new competition during practice and have confidence that the adjustments will bear fruit out on the field.

“We’ve been working a lot on building cohesion through game-like situations and scrimmages,” Majmudar said.

The team is planning to scrimmage LaGuardia High School before its first league game, and this will provide a level of competition and experience that cannot be found in practice. “We do a lot of scrimmaging to not only become better players, but to build a better team dynamic,” Ruhl said.

Team cohesion and the ability to work as a unit will play an important part in how competitive the Mimbas are going to be in a tougher division. Though it will no doubt be an uphill climb, the team is eager to get back on the field and make another run for the playoffs. Led by Majmudar and Ruhl, the Mimbas will hopefully kick off another successful season followed by a deep postseason run on September 7 against Baruch College Campus High School.