Poppy headed to nationals
Kahnawa’kehró:non Poppy Diabo is gearing up for nationals with her Onondaga Community College women’s soccer team after they defeated their opponent 4-0 last weekend.
Just before halftime, the freshman at the college in Syracuse, New York, assisted in her teammate Justine Borte scoring the team’s second goal.
“The day of our last game felt unreal,” said Diabo, who studies early childhood education at the college. “Right from when we stepped into the locker room and went onto the pitch, the energy was there. We knew what we had to do to win and continue our season. We had to have a solid warm up and come out strong in the first half, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Her team’s defeat last Saturday against the North Country Community College Saints earned the Onondaga Lazers the regional championship title for their division under the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). It’s the team’s second consecutive regional title.
Diabo said she knew by halftime her team was going to win, but said she went in knowing anything could happen in the next 45 minutes. It was her teammate Brooke Widrick who ended up sealing the deal at 79 minutes with their fourth goal.
“Standing there in the huddle before we started the second half was a different type of feeling. It was exciting and made me want to go out and play the best game I’ve ever played,” she said. “We ended the game with a 4-0 win. The other team put up a good fight, but our team was stronger in all aspects of the game.”
The Onondaga Lazers will play their first national championship game on November 12 in Batavia, New York.
“I’m feeling good about nationals,” Diabo said. “We’re a strong team. I feel like we will make it far. I’m sure I can speak for everyone on my team when I say we’re all feeling a bit nervous, obviously, but more excited than anything. This is what we’ve been working so hard for, and I know that we are more than ready to take on nationals.”
They’re going in having won 11 out of 14 games this past season, losing two and tying one. The team has yet to earn a national title, but was able to advance to nationals last year before getting eliminated.
