Fall is here and the girls’ soccer teams are back in action. Two games into the season, both teams hold 1-1 records, but they are still in the early stages of their seasons.
Varsity girls’ soccer
The varsity girls’ soccer team played their first game of the season on Sept. 5 against Poolesville at 7 p.m. The home game took place on a hot, humid night and began amidst a glowing purple sunset. As the team’s warm-up playlist played over the loudspeaker, the players coursed with excitement to play their first game of the season. After the player announcements and the National Anthem, it was time for kick-off. A first-half goal by senior captain midfielder Lizzie Misovec from outside the box gave the Patriots a lead at the half. Fantastic saves by senior goalkeeper Gurnoor Sodhi, all night long, kept the Falcons from scoring. In the second half, senior forward Maria Sofronas scored off a corner kick to seal the deal and give the team a 2-0 victory. “During that game, everything was going well and I was really proud of myself and the team. I think that moving forward, we should stay confident but still keep working hard. We can’t let our confidence turn to overconfidence,” Sodhi said after the match.
A week later, the team played Walter Johnson on Sept. 11. Head coach Christopher Thompson started the game with a 4-3-3 formation (four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards). Sodhi started in goal, with juniors Maddie Zincke and Melissa Lee, and sophomores Megan Lomotan and Annalise Yi in front of her as defenders. The midfield was composed of seniors Tati Pacheco, Sofia Gabrielle and Misovec. Sofronas started with sophomore Isabella Caban and freshman Alex Rabin as the front three.
The Patriots scored first, with a superb back-post header goal by Pacheco off a corner from Gabrielle. Lockdown defense by Yi, Lomotan, Zincke and Lee kept the Wildcats off the score sheet, and at the half, the team was up 1-0. Substitutions were made going into the second half as players started fatiguing and the Wildcats were able to score three goals, the last one in the final five minutes of the game. The team ended up losing the game 3-1. “After the game, I was pretty disappointed. In the first half we played really well, but then they outplayed us in the second half. This season, I’m looking forward to winning some more games and having fun with the team,” sophomore defender Megan Lomotan said.
With 10 seniors, six juniors, four sophomores, and three freshmen, the team has plenty of experience. The team is struggling with injuries to key players, but they should be firing on all cylinders in the coming weeks.
JV girls’ soccer
The JV girls’ soccer team started their season with a dominant 7-0 win against Poolesville. They then went on to lose 3-1 against Walter Johnson, with the lone goal by sophomore Maya Bellamy off a through ball by freshman Elena Bernal in the final five minutes of the game. “Technically, we were the better team. We were organized and played well. Like I told the girls, if the game was played in slow motion, we probably would’ve won, but it wasn’t. That WJ team was faster and stronger than us, and ultimately, they were able to outscore us,” head coach Jillian Coon said.
Both teams play their next game tonight, at Kennedy. JV will be playing at 5:30 p.m. and varsity will be playing at 7:15.
