This season, the Girls Varsity Soccer team introduced a new head coach, Mr. Matthew Mirabito. Coming in with high goals, Mirabito planned to establish a new winning initiative within the Girls Soccer program. Although it’s only the beginning of the season, he led the girls program to a 4-1 start defeating Bergenfield, Cliffside Park, Riverdale and Teaneck.
Tenafly suffered a discouraging loss against Rasmey, but Mirabito showed no negativity during the half. Delivering an inspiring motivational speech, Mirabito empowered the Tigers, who then went on to a great second half and end to the game.
“The game against Ramsey was a gift for our entire season, and I think it’s going to end up being the most important game we had all season,” he said. “I say this because we realized, in that second half, that there isn’t a team in the county or maybe even the state that we can’t compete with. When you hold a team that’s top ten ranked in the state of New Jersey to one goal a whole half, it’s pretty darn impressive. I think we found out a lot about us that particular night. Not only what formations and tactics work for us, but also we found out a lot about our hearts. We found out a lot about how we feel about each other as a team, because not a single person that played in that second half wasn’t giving maximum effort.”
The new head coach immediately identified a need to boost intensity and enthusiasm in the team, based on the observations he’s made of the program over the past two years. He empathized that while he could bring energy through his coaching style, the real challenge was to “infuse that into each individual player.” A key focus of his approach is building personal connections with his players to help them believe in themselves. “I could tell there were times where players didn’t believe in themselves,” he explained. His strategy was to first highlight their strengths and then address areas for improvement. By focusing on the positives, he aimed to shift their mindset and elevate their expectations, helping them understand that they “should be winning games.” Overall he addresses that the real changes were not just tactical but philosophical as well, aiming to reshape how each player approached both the game and their own capabilities on the field.
Coach Mirabito has high expectations for the girls soccer team. He doesn’t expect just a few victories here and there, but for a season marked with many wins. He believes that the team has potential “to beat teams that historically have beaten us. We’re not only going to compete with, but defeat the best teams that we play.” For him, this success is about more than just winning games; it’s about building a legacy for Tenafly Soccer. He’s determined to see the girl’s achievements recognized beyond the field. “I want this team in the paper,” he said. “I want people to write articles about them. I want Tenafly Girls Soccer to be an elite team.”
His expectations are not solely about the scoreboard. On a deeper level, he wants the girls to carry themselves with pride both on and off the field. His internal goals are just as ambitious as his external ones, “when they walk around this building, I want people to say ‘Wow, girls soccer is excellent’ and to look at them so differently as both people and players.”
It’s clear that the expectations are high, but he’s confident in the team’s ability to meet them. “There’s a lot of expectations, of which I believe are all very achievable,” he said, adding that the team is already starting to show its potential. His belief in their capabilities is unwavering as he pushes the girls to reach a new level of success both as individuals and as a team.
