Girls' soccer is on a roll

By Jordyn Sanchez

Editor in Chief

Girls’ soccer season is coming to an end, with some of the varsity players saying goodbye to their seniors, but their pride builds stronger as their game runs to an end. The girls strive to win more games as well as represent the school with more accuracy.

In girls’ varsity soccer, they’ve had a tough season but made 5th overall conference, winning a quarter of their games even to go as far not letting the other teams score a point in a match. As well as junior varsity girls’ soccer, their season has been on a roll with many ties with the dedication to win, though neither record isn’t recorded accurately online, according to both teams, they’ve won a decent amount of games.

“I think Joliet was the toughest game we played, because I feel like they might have had more experience in us. But like, then again, we're just beginners,” Berlyn Aguilar Rodríguez said.

Both teams ended in losses against Juliet, which doesn't bring down the performance of the girls. It’s only from there, as they improve in practice, which is Monday through Friday, that they will become stronger as a team in general.

“A typical practice includes a warm-up, technical skill work, small-sided drills, and then we usually finish with situational play or scrimmaging. We try to keep practices structured but competitive,” junior varsity coach Kevin Lentz said.

As the girl’s practice everyday they strive to listen to their coach’s inspirational encouragement which the coaches always make sure to say if something goes wrong or if a player feels put down by a mistake instead of putting them down and being rough on them as studies show, Coaches who are harsh, verbally abusive, or demeaning severely damage athlete confidence, mental health, and enjoyment of the sport according to changing the game project.

“We try our best to play simple. Simple play is smart, effective, and if done correctly, effortless.

My expectation for all my athletes is ‘do better than what you did yesterday.’ This idea allows for growth for any player. Another aspect of showing growth is committing to the team and showing up every day,” varsity coach Michelle Costalunga said.

As a result, the team comes together and makes sure to always provide an encouraging atmosphere after practice, games, tournaments, etc., instead of a nonencouraging and negative community, they strive to give back feedback to help out their teammates. Wilson has pointed out that whenever she makes a mistake, her team will tell her how to improve and cheer her on.

“Oh, I just talk to my team, because usually they have really encouraging words to say so knowing that daily, something I did bad, makes people feel better,” varsity player Angela Wilson said.

Not only do the girls use communication after a game, but during a game too, in times of stress and panic, but our girls don’t panic; instead, they use their words to work together and build chemistry with each other, which not only gives them an advantage in the game but also increases their performance.

“The best player I have chemistry with will be Selene, and pretty much most of the midfielders and players. We all have really good communication,” junior varsity player Keily Miranda Ticas said.

The girls’ soccer coaches also always give back feedback during halftime, on the bench, or after every game to help the girls improve on any mistakes they made during the game or afterwards, and always keep a positive attitude and not bring any of the girls down after being scored on.

“He tells us like, what to do, and he tells us like, what we're doing good and what we're not doing good at,” junior varsity player Mia Porras said.

Even after challenges being faced, such as injuries, the girl’s soccer team never stops their determination and always make sure to attend practice even when in a moment of injury, showing how important soccer is to them and their team.

“At this point in the season, one of our biggest challenges is managing fatigue and staying healthy. With a high number of games, some players are dealing with minor injuries, while others are simply worn down. Our focus is on maintaining energy, managing recovery, and staying mentally sharp so we can continue to compete at a high level,” coach Michelle Costalunga said.

Players on varsity and junior varsity are echoing that mindset as they push through the grind of the season, keeping their heads up, even when it comes to challenging themselves or by other teams, out of the season, between varsity and junior varsity, at least a total of 10 injuries accrued, but didn’t stop them from playing at their best performance.

“I just shake it off and say to myself it could always be better, and say we can always beat them in another match,” junior varsity player Sophia Sanchez said.