With 11 new freshmen, the team is ready for success this year. “I believe these freshman will make this a perfect squad and I am excited to play with them,” sophomore captain Kelly Baldwin said.
The Patriots opened on the road against the Sherwood Warriors on Sep. 4. “We were ready to go and couldn’t wait to open up the season on a good note,” sophomore Maya Erd said.
The game started off well for the Warriors, scoring in the first half early. The Patriots did not get down and fought the rest of the first half. Going into intermission the score was 1-0. The Patriots owned the possession game, but could get seem to put the ball in the goal. “We were confident about our chances in the second half, because of how well we played at the start,” freshman Emily Levine said.
Both teams worked hard and put their bodies on the line to save or score a goal. The Patriots again owned the possession game, but could not cash in. The girls got denied over and over again in the circle, and the second half went by fast. The Warriors held up and constantly cleared the ball. “It was frustrating, because we were so close the whole game but could not finish,” sophomore captain Erin Chang said.
The game ended 1-0 and the Warriors left with the win. The girls took this game as motivation and decided they were not going to lose in the next game against the Richard Montgomery Rockets on Sept. 8. “We were ready, and we weren’t going to lose this one,” sophomore Rachel Son said.
The girls came out firing in the first 25 minutes, taking a quick 1-0 lead. Once again the team led in possession, and in shots, and at the half the Patriots remained on top by one.
The second half went the same way, and the Patriots scored early to extended the lead to two goals. Both captains, Kirby Child and Kelly Baldwin scored both goals and lead the team to a 2-0 victory. “It was a great win and I hope we can continue this trend,” sophomore Tamera Heller said.
The girls hoped to take this momentum into their next game against the Northwest Jaguars on Sep. 12.
The Jaguars came out soft and Baldwin scored early to give the Patriots a 1-0 lead. For the third straight game the girls kept the ball for almost the entire time.
The second half followed suit and the girls kept possession. The Jaguars did not have a shot on goal and Child put it away with another goal. The team won 2-0 and pushed their record to 2-1. “We are playing well, and I love being a part of this team,” freshman Sage Gardiner said.
The girls’ next game against Walter Johnson on Sept. 20 was too late to be included.