Strong group of seniors quietly contributing to Nottingham girls soccer success

Nottingham girls soccer
A sturdy group of seniors have helped Nottingham’s girls soccer team to a recent hot streak, including (front) Jayda Driver; (back row, from left), Mia Sandoval, Oriana Seitz, Emily Midura, Alicia Martin, Lauren Ahern, Meghan Fowler  and Kayla Mulrine. Nottingham has won three of four entering Monday’s Patriot Game contest against Steinert at Veterans Park (Photo by Wes “The Media Mogul” Kirkpatrick)  

By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com
Sep. 29:
When Gia Girman joined the Nottingham High girls soccer program in 2017, she was undoubtedly going to garner the lion’s share of publicity.

That’s what happens when a player collects 68 goals and 16 assists in slightly less than two-and-a-half seasons.

“Goal scorers are always going to get the recognition, it’s just how it goes,” coach Christie “Fish” Fink said.

But Girman is the first to admit she has had help, and a lot of that assistance was on the team when the junior first came along.

The Northstar seniors have quietly gone about their business in an effective way, and Nottingham (5-5) has won three of its last four entering Monday night’s 7 p.m. Patriot Game contest with Steinert at Veterans Park. 

The group includes midfielders Lauren Ahern, Jayda Driver, Emily Midura and Kayla Mulrine, defenders Mia Sandoval and Oriana Seitz and goalie Alicia Martin.

Midura is one of the more underrated players in the county, but during the Stars recent three-game winning streak, she collected eight goals and two hat tricks. She leads the Stars with nine assists. Since her sophomore season she has 22 goals and 13 assists.

“Emily is putting balls in the back of the net and connecting,” Fink said. “She and Gia have been connecting really well in the last few games. It’s great to see her grow up and mature as a person.”

Ahern has also been effective in the midfield, picking up two goals and five assists this season.

“Lauren always does the hard work behind the scenes,” Fink said. “She’s always connecting passes, seeing the good through balls, working hard with Emily in the middle. They’re best friends and they work well together in the center mid.”

And while those two may stand out, Fink feels every one of her seniors are important.

“Honestly, all of them contribute,” she said. “Oriana is a great leader in the back. She’s our sweeper. She really calms everything and everybody down. She’s like he mom of the girls. She just keeps everything together. Mia works her butt off back there. All of them do a great job.”

And they do it quietly, but consistently.

About The Author


Rich Fisher has been around the Hamilton Township sports scene for so long that he actually got Rich Giallella’s autograph when Giallella was still a player! Proud product of Hamilton YMCA and Lou Gehrig baseball leagues and former teammate of Jim Maher on a very average Barton & Cooney rec basketball team, Fish graduated from Nottingham Junior High and Steinert High school and has covered township sports since 1980. His goal in life is to convince Maria Prato that Jersey tomatoes are at least 100 times better than California tomatoes.