Towards the end of last fall the girl’s varsity soccer team had lost in double overtime in the semi-finals of the Nepsac tournament. Four seniors left the team, Olivia Aha, Meghan St. Martin, Emily Driscoll, and Sarah Gibson. But most of all we had lost our coach Mrs. Aha. That was last season, this season it is a whole new experience. With three new coaches: Michelle, Mr. Gibson, and Mr. booth, new players, and a new field, the girl’s varsity soccer team has some adjusting to do.
This year’s team is a young team, a “two year team” as Mrs. Blackburn would say. There are no seniors on the team this season, just seven juniors (all returning players), three sophomores, four freshman, and one eighth grader. Along with having a young team, there are also a lot of new players this year, such as Jasmin Herrera ‘18. Jasmin said, “being apart of this team is like no other; you get to meet a lot of new friends; but it is hard being new and adjusting to how the team plays.”
On top of having new incoming players, we have three new coaches. Having to say goodbye to Mrs. Aha for the team was hard; Olivia and her mother were a big part of the team. The coaches this year are helping us step-up our game: They enlarged the field for us and fought for better referees. They also have players playing in different positions this season. Athletic Director, Coach Blackburn, commented: “The coaches have the best intentions for the girls.”
The number of changes this year has posed challenges to the team this season. The first three games were a challenge for the varsity team, who lost all three out of league games. Coach Blackburn explained: “There is panic on the field and frustration due to players being in new positions and everybody getting used to moving and playing as one team/one unit.”
In the first game against Warring, the team started to play more cohesively which led them to win their first victory of the season. As Mrs. Blackburn says “It isn’t going to take one day to fix this.” The varsity soccer team is on a slow yet steady track upward, with only one win out of conference. But, so far, the team is undefeated in their conference. As they girls get more and more comfortable with each other, they may just prove unstoppable as the season continues. So far the team is undefeated in their conference.