Girls’ soccer kicks their way to victory
With the mid-winter season reeling in, many sport teams have been working hard to wrap up their seasons. The NPHS girls’ soccer teams, in particular, have been training all season in hopes for a fun and successful season.
Lauren Cary, freshman, is spending her first year on the girls JV team playing as a left wing. For the past 11 years, she’s been playing on club teams, however this year, she’s especially excited to be able to play with a different group of people. “I’ve always kind of wanted to join the high school team because I’ve loved soccer for a very long time,” Cary said.
Playing for her third year in a row, Delaney Anthony, junior, is a goalkeeper and midfielder for the JV team. Since the season started, all of the teams have been working hard in both training and playing. “We have games Tuesdays and Fridays and practices the other days. On Wednesdays, we have strength and conditioning and training with Coach Brittany and the other days,” Anthony said. The JV team ended their successful season with five wins.
Aside from a few safety measures, the girls are excited to have an almost normal season again. “We’re definitely taking COVID precautions during practices. We do less contact during practices and in games and we wear masks in the buses. Practices have been mostly normal except for that,” Anthony said.
Although tryouts were very competitive going into this season, there were still a good amount of underclassmen that got accepted into the higher teams. Siena Meyer, freshman, plays center back and was one of many lucky players who got accepted onto the varsity team for her first year. “I’m really grateful for being it [making the team]. I wasn’t really expecting it and I guess a lot of freshmen made it, which is really good,” Meyer said. “The seniors and the juniors have been amazing with being super inclusive with us and everything. They’re super sweet and it’s a really cool experience to play with older players.”
Despite how challenging it can feel sometimes, being on the varsity team is still a great new experience for Meyer. “I think I’m handling it [the season] pretty well. It’s definitely hard sometimes in the strength factor, but skill wise and socially, [the upperclassmen] make it really easy during practice to make us feel like we’re keeping up,” Meyer said. The varsity team will be going to CIFs as this current season comes to an end.
For many of the girls, playing the sport and having the team experience is sometimes one of the most rewarding parts about playing alongside your teammates. “I really like being part of a team. I know it’s a very cliché answer, but it’s honestly true. I like feeling a sense of leadership too, because if you are outspoken, then you can channel that energy into soccer,” Cary said.
