Last year the varsity girls’ soccer team had an amazing season, finishing as county champs, but losing to Whitman in the regional finals. They are more determined this year to finish out the season on top and come home with a state championship. 

The Patriots started their season 3-0 with a dominant opener against Rockville on Sept. 6, winning 6-0. Although this was the first game of the season, the girls showed no rust as they played fast and tough. The Patriots offense looked great with multiple players scoring goals and everyone contributing and sharing the ball and in control the whole game.  The defense did not get as much action when the Rams had the ball. It was difficult for them to get past the Patriots, resulting in a shutout. “This game showed how much potential we have for the season. I think what the defense did really well was communicating with each other and being able to force difficult shots and cause turnovers,” senior defender Kaitlin Mariani said.

The second game of the season was against Watkins Mill on Sept. 14 following a cancellation of their game against Quince Orchard due to thunderstorms. The Patriots had yet another dominating game with a 9-1 win. The offense scored on every part of the field with great passing, leading to wide open goals and  deep shots impossible for the goalie to save. “I was really looking forward to the Quince Orchard game because it was going to be one of the harder games on the schedule. But Watkins Mill was still a good game even though we won by a lot. I think it was because we played really well, not because we were way better than them,” junior midfielder Lizzie Misovec said.

  Their third game of the season was against the Northwest Jaguars. The girls knew this game was going to be harder than all the other games they have played so far. The game started strong with the Patriots controlling the ball most of the half, and eventually a goal by junior Kate Hawley gave the Patriots a 1-0 lead at half. The defense came up big again with some great saves from senior goalie Karen Potts in the second half for the Patriots as they held Northwest to zero goals and their second shutout of the season. The Patriots won 1-0 and moved to 3-0. “During the first half our game plan was to attack as much as possible. I felt like we did that but our shots weren’t hitting. Eventually we scored and our gameplan in the second half was to keep the lead and secure the ball so Northwest wouldn’t have a chance to score,” senior Sophie Xu said.