Here’s an easy question.
How necessary was Ava Prosdocimo’s addition to the Steinert girls soccer team this year?
And here’s the simple answer.
Considering that the Spartans scored 22 goals in 21 games last year, and that the freshman had 14 in Steinert’s 8-7 start this season, she’s pretty darn necessary.
“It’s impressive to watch,” coach Mike “Stinger” Hastings said. “I had heard about her before she got here. Lisa Gmitter-Pittaro told me about her when she was in middle school. She told me we had a player coming who’s a pretty special kid.”
Since Gmitter is one of Mercer County’s all-time greatest players, her word should be taken seriously. And she worked hands on enough with Prosdocimo at Crockett to see her talent.
“She was my gym teacher and she definitely helped me out,” Prosdocimo said. “I’d always talk to her about soccer.”
Considering Gmitter has a Steinert-record 177 goals, she’s a good person to get help from. But the high-scoring forward has learned from a lot of people during her career, including Hastings and her Match Fit club coach Vito Galluccio.
“Hastings has been really welcoming and has put me in a great environment,” she said.
Prosdocimo is the most exciting freshman scorer to enter the Mercer County since Gia Girman scored 14 for Nottingham in 2017 (and finished with an even 100).
“Gia was more physical, her pace was really, really dangerous,” Hastings recalled. “Ava’s skills are just so advanced at this point. With the work she puts in, it’s gonna be fun to see how much better she can get.”
Prosdocimo started soccer at age 4 with Hamilton rec and still has memories of those early years.
“I remember it being really fun,” she said. “I played with my sister and my dad coached. It was fun playing with all my friends and our team was usually pretty good.”
She moved to the Hibernian travel program at age 7 and then on to Match Fit. Last year she joined Reale Football Academy in Medford. When she started with the Hibos, Ava was a midfielder but sensed she would be more valuable up front. She began making some runs and easing her way forward, and eventually talked her way into playing both positions.
Once she began scoring, there was no desire to return to midfield. Prosdocimo has that inborn hunger that’s so valuable up front.
“I definitely want to score goals,” she said. “I like the pressure. I like scoring when we’re down and getting goals when we need it the most.”
Sporting a refreshing confidence, Prosdocimo was not surprised at making varsity this year, let alone gain a starting berth.
“I actually hoped to make varsity and I was definitely hoping to do well and put some goals in the back of the net,” she said. “I was really excited to try out.”
After hearing about Prosdocimo from Gmitter, Hastings got his first look at her during Steinert’s seven-v-seven workouts in the summer.
“The first time we saw her place the ball we said ‘Oh she’s different,’” Hastings said with a laugh. “She has great skill on the ball and a great understanding of the game. Her soccer IQ is really high. She understands the game at a little bit of a different level. She reads the game very well; she always knows where to be. Her positioning is really good, her touch on the ball is immaculate.”
While those are important attributes for any scorer, they are especially necessary for Prosdocimo considering she is just 5-foot-2 and 95 pounds. That’s a pretty slight body to go against 17-year-olds.
“When the game is moving fast, having the ball at my feet makes it a lot less physical and you can pass it around fast,” she said. “When it slows down the defense gets more pushy, so I try to go fast. The defense has been more physical but it has helped me become more physical. Now I’ve become more comfortable with that aspect of the game.”
Hastings just loves watching his diminutive striker bedazzle opponents with her slick moves and surprisingly strong leg.
“She has power on her shot,” the coach said. “It’s amazing to watch. You look at her and you go ‘Oh she’s tiny,’ but she plays bigger than she is. That’s just how good she is.
“This is the first time she’s really playing against kids that are much older than her. When you’re playing with your club teams you’re only playing your age, so it’s kind of impressive what she’s done. She’s matching them physically. She gets her fouls. Bigger girls are gonna foul her. She gets right back up. She’s tough, she has all the attributes to be a tremendous player.”
Several of those attributes come from being a student of the game. She spends time watching videos of other offensive players and does ample work beyond Steinert games and practices.
“A lot of the off days I go up to Steinert and kick around with my dad,” Prosdocimo said. “Doing things on my own has definitely helped me become the kind of player I can be. Getting touches on balls is very important.”
Hastings feels her ability to control the ball at her feet, coupled with that IQ, is what has allowed Ava to thrive in such a competitive environment with older and bigger players.
“Knowing she’s not gonna be able to body up somebody that’s 18 years old and bigger than her, she knows to use her foot skills and her quickness to get around those type of players,” the coach said.
Prosdocimo is up front with fellow freshman Caitlin Medino (6 goals as of Oct. 17) and juniors Irene Jackman and Ella Tamagno, who has assisted on numerous Ava goals.
“We’ve been working really well,” Prosdocimo said. “They’ve definitely helped a lot.”
One of the nicest things about Prosdocimo’s arrival is that there has been no bitterness or jealousy, which can sometimes happen when a freshman is a team’s leading scorer by far. But the newbie has had no such problems, saying that the veterans made it easy by welcoming her.
Hastings noted it was to their benefit to do so.
“The older players realized pretty early in the summer when she was training, they’re going “Woah, she’s good!,’” the veteran coach said. “They recognized that.
“And she’s one of the kindest, nicest girls you could ever meet. She’s not cocky, she’s not arrogant. She’s a determined kid who wants to get better every day. She brings it every day. She works really hard at the training sessions and practices. She’s all in. I think the girls recognize that and appreciate that.
“They’re pulling for her. That’s the cool part about it. We’re trying to build something here with this young group. Our three seniors have been tremendous at showing them just how we do things. We don’t care who gets the credit just as long we win the game. It just so happens she’s putting the ball in the back of the net for us.”
The Spartans were winning games at a pace not really expected with such an inexperienced team.
“I would say this season is more working on what we need to work on for upcoming seasons because our team is so young,” Prosdocimo said. “Next year and the year after we have a lot of potential.”
And thanks to her prolific scoring at such a young age, the Spartans have gone beyond their potential this season.
