The Northampton girls varsity soccer team kicked off their fall season with a new leader at the helm.

Former Bethlehem Catholic coach Gus Belaires returned to Northampton this season amid hopes of rebuilding the girls' soccer program. Before his five seasons at Bethlehem Catholic, Belaires served on the coaching staff of both the boys and girls teams at Northampton.

The Northampton girls soccer team endured a tough 5-13 record in the 2012 fall season but with new leadership and a new commitment from the team, hopes are high for improved results this year.

"I didn't know what to think going in," Belaires admited. "Northampton had a tough couple of years. The focus going in was to just get the team committed to playing soccer."

After loosing some players to field hockey and others that just didn't come out this year, Belaires was left with a small, but dedicated squad.

Belaires also brings his long time assistant coach John LeBarre to Northampton. The two began working with the team last spring to prepare for the 2013 fall season and their out of conference start to against Stroudsburg at home on August 30th. While the season got off to a slow start, a win against East Stroudsburg South and a strong showing against conference powerhouse Parkland indicated that hard work and commitment are starting to pay off.

"It's a rebuilding year," explains Belaires "We're asking everybody to buy into the program and feel unity as one team and the girls are definitely buying in."

The girls soccer team is led by returning senior and team captain Erica Filipovits and senior forward Leandra Sterner, who tops the list of goal scorers so far this year for Northampton with a total of seven. Other returning senior players for Northampton include midfielders Haley and Sarah Fribance who have started the season out with two goals a piece and defender Ali Horn. Standing strong in goal this year is goalkeeper Anna Keffer who has made 38 saves this season to date. While the team has solid experience it is also relying on four starting freshman as well as sophomores and juniors to contribute in this rebuilding year.

Belaires admits that, "we're asking these girls to play at a different level than they are used to".

Northampton hosted their first game of the season at Wolf Field against Stroudsburg. Stroudsburg posted five unanswered goals in the first half giving them the early advantage. Northampton gained momentum in the second half as Sterner led the charge with one goal and one assist to Haley Fribance. But the effort came too late to overcome Stroudsburg's first half goals and Northampton's first game of the season ended in a 6-2 loss. Goalkeeper Keffer had an even split of 6 saves and 6 goals allowed.

The season continued with a tough start as the team fell 3-1 to Pleasant Valley on Aug. 31, and 7-1 in their first conference matchup against Whitehall at home on Sept. 3. Northampton's only goals in these games were scored by Haley Fribance and Katie Miller respectively. Haley Fribance also had an assist in the Whitehall game.

Despite these early losses, the team found their stride on Sept. 4 with a 4-0 victory over East Stroudsburg South. Leading this first win of the season were Sterner and Sarah Fribance, both with two goals in this game.

On the heels of this win, Northampton traveled to Parkland Sept. 7, for their second conference match up. The game remained scoreless through regulation and one overtime period with Keffer saving shots. The girls played a solid game but in the end, Parkland won the battle with just two minutes left in the second overtime.

"It was a great game." explained Belaires.

Northampton hosted Nazareth (5-0-1) on Monday, Sept. 9. Despite 6 saves by Keffer, the game ended in a 4-0 victory for the Eagles.

"It's a tough division," said Belaires, "but we're playing hard."

Northampton hits the road for their next three contests against Dieruff, Bethlehem Catholic and Freedom beginning on Sept. 11.