Somerset Berkley girls dominate – Boston Herald

When Somerset Berkley opted to coach Moussa Traore ahead of the 2024 season, the name was familiar to parents from his days as a youth soccer mentor.

What many didn’t know was that coaching is all Traore knows. It’s his life and he has an impeccable resume to prove it.

The proof is clear as the Blue Raiders remain undefeated at 17-0-0.

Prior to his days with Somerset Berkley, Traore was the Director of Soccer Development at Somerset Youth and served as a coach for local clubs and travel programs. He spent five years at the Liverpool International Academy before returning to the area to coach with Bayside FC.

When the position opened at Somerset Berkley, Traore felt the fit was ideal.

“I knew some of the kids from the travel programs,” Traore said. “I know the school was struggling to get quality coaching and just to get some continuity. Since I’m already familiar with the area, it’s not new to me, it was a no brainer. Just being a part of the community, I felt like I could take my involvement to the next level by being a part of the high school family.”

Led by their junior class with stars like Julia Costa, Emily Fernandes and Aryanna Secia, the team thrived.

“I think the key is our chemistry as a team,” Fernandes said. “We’ve been working hard all season connecting our passes. Everything we do on and off the field has contributed to our success.”

Prior to this season, Somerset Berkley had not won a South Coast Conference title since 2006. They accomplished the aforementioned feat four weeks ago.

“I think for our group, the juniors, all three of us have wanted to win this conference title since we were in high school,” Secia said. “That was a goal of ours and as soon as we finished last year not very well, we knew as soon as the next year started we were going to do well, win and do everything we could to succeed.”

Somerset Berkley’s win came on Sept. 13 in a 2-1 nail-biter against Dartmouth, a program that has provided the entire SCC with matches over the past decade.

Secia paces his team with 19 goals. Mackenzie Pires also has 19 goals, while Fernandes has provided a major spark offensively (11 goals, 17 assists). Noa Beaudry has scored 11 goals, while Layla Venacio has seven more goals with 11 assists.

The Blue Raiders will look to wrap up the regular season by competing in the annual South Coast Conference Cup next week. Then, they will try to gain progress in the Div. 2 tournament. The road to a championship will have plenty of obstacles, however, with perennial powers like Duxbury, Masconomet and Oliver Ames to contend with.

“We have a ‘one game at a time’ philosophy,” Traore said. “After every game, we go through the process of forgetting what happened last game. It’s a brand new season, every game. It seems like the games have gotten tougher and tougher because every opponent we see, we get the best out of them. So that’s how we’ll have to do it from now on. It’s a new season, every game.”