Practice after practice.

Game after game. 

Each player stepped on the field with a goal in mind ready to put in all their effort to make it happen. By the end of the season, those goals had been accomplished. 

Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity girls’ soccer teams ended their 2023-24 season finishing second in the district overall. The varsity team also beat Ridge Point High School in districts for the first time in about six years. 

“To be able to get a point back against a state qualifier from the previous year was a big deal for our girls,” Coach Todd Francis said. “I know they were very excited about that.”

Senior and varsity captain Macy Houston said the team was “really successful.”

“We got second in districts, we won every shootout that we were a part of, and every player on our team scored a goal!” Houston said. “All these goals were achieved because everyone on the team worked so hard and put so much time and love into our team to make it happen.”

However, this success did not come without its challenges. Both teams faced various issues. 

“One of the challenges we faced was the ability to form new relationships and bonds with the inclusion of freshmen, and also overcoming various injuries,” Junior and JV captain Ani Dhaliwal said. “I think one thing that helped was the team bonding activities, like team dinners, that helped to strengthen the team.”

However, Francis said that whenever there was an injury, it did not affect the team much but one of the biggest challenges for varsity was losing their first district game.

“Our first tournament of the year was fairly easy for our team to win, so I think we were a little bit surprised about playing George Ranch in between two tournaments at the beginning of the year,” Francis said. “It started us off at the very bottom, and we kind of had to work our way back from that.”

Senior and varsity captain Chloe Le said this made it hard for the team to stay focused.

“We also struggled staying positive for more challenging games, and sometimes our morale would go down after being scored on,” Le said. “During these types of games, we would all just try to help pump each other up to keep our heads in it.”

Despite this, Francis said the team “gained a lot of confidence.”

“I think we’re playing at a high enough quality level where we can beat anybody,” Francis said. “That was definitely the attitude we lost in the first round of the playoffs. I think that confidence of having early tournament success and finishing the year with that ability to play with high-level competition is going to carry over for us.”

The players have also been able to carry over this ability, among others, into several areas of their lives. 

“Soccer has taught me so much, but the main ones are collaborating with others, time management, and hard work,” Le said. “I learn just as much from my teammates as they learn from me, and we all have to work together to achieve our goal, which has helped me be a better communicator and collaborator with others.”

Houston said that she has also learned new abilities that she has been able to apply to other aspects of her life. 

“I have learned that if you want to be successful you have to want it and you have to get everyone working with you to want it,” Houston said. “When everyone you are working with wants the same thing, you are more likely to be successful and have more fun.”