Girls’ varsity soccer secured a home playoff match in the first round after beating Magruder away, finishing the season with a record of 8-3-1.
The girls’ season kicked off with a 3-1 win at Poolesville on Sept. 11. That was followed by two more wins, a 2-0 win against Rockville at home on Sept. 14, and a dominant 8-0 win over Watkins Mill on Sept. 16. The team hit a few roadblocks when they hosted the three other W schools.
The first W school to leave its mark on the girls’ schedule was Walter Johnson. The game was competitive, going into double overtime. The game finished 1-1, giving the girls their only tie. The next team-up was Winston Churchill. This was another close match that ended 1-0 with a goal from Churchill sophomore Sydney Melnik with eight minutes to go in the second half. This resulted in the girls putting a second loss on their record.
Then came senior night, which started better than it ended. The ceremony was meaningful, giving the senior girls the send-off they deserve. The seniors include center back Bianca Diamond, wing back Melissa Lee, midfielder Isabella Davis-Astrada, forward Lea Weinstein, midfielder Elizabeth Griffin, midfielder Leah Antony and center back Madeline Zincke. All seven seniors got to start that night but the away team, Whitman, did not hold back.
The game started with a quick Whitman goal. Wootton bounced back with a beautiful goal from Antony. Whitman finished the half with another goal, making it 2-1 to start the second. Whitman put another one in the back of the net but the Wootton girls kept the game close thanks to Diamond, who put a header in to make it 3-2. Whitman closed out the game with another goal making the final score 4-2 Whitman, adding a third loss on the season.
The team’s star defensive player, Diamond is an important part of every game. She controls the game in the back and buries goals in the net. After the Whitman game, Diamond said, “Scoring on my senior night was really special because it was my last regular season home game and my whole family was there to see it.”
The team finished in first place in the division, secured a first-round bye and a second-round home-field advantage. Now the team must prepare for their home playoff game. The girls will face off against the winner of the Blake v. Rockville match on Oct. 29. The girls beat both in the regular season and look forward to moving past them and finding their way back to a familiar place, the regional finals.
