In case you missed last month’s Wyvern Sports Corner, don’t forget to congratulate the women’s soccer team on an amazing season that brought them all the way to the National Junior College Athletic Association regional playoffs.
Before the Fall 2023 semester, there hadn’t been a women’s soccer team since 2019. Former Head Women’s Basketball Coach Andy Lynch stepped in to lead the team, without much time to practice and lacking proper equipment for many of the players.
When Lynch described their first game, even though it was a loss, he beamed with pride as he recalled how the Wyverns prevented the notoriously tough Community College of Rhode Island from scoring during the entire first half.
Lynch commended the players for keeping their spirits high and even with their academic and personal demands, persevering for a stellar season that included five wins, one tie and one loss, bringing them to the conference finals in their first season together.
“Making it to the playoffs was a dream come true. It’s a rare opportunity that you always appreciate if it’s achieved,” said Alana Purretta, a long-time soccer player who is a healthcare and liberal arts major in her second year at QCC. “My favorite part about the team is making memories while pushing hard together to succeed. One of the highlights was winning for the first time. We were all jumping for joy, some of us quite literally and telling each other how proud we were of everyone.”
When thinking back on the season, Lynch had something special to say about each of the players and was extremely grateful for the support of the QCC community, including High School to College Linkages Specialist Andy Kupec, who assisted with coaching.
“The crowd at the games kept getting better and better. It felt great to see that people were paying attention. The support from the administration, Lisa Gurnick and Josh Cole was incredibly helpful,” Lynch said.
Visit qcc.edu/athletics to keep up with all of QCC’s student athletics groups.