By EMILY O’LOANE
With a new coach, the girl’s soccer team is working to overcome communication difficulties in order to obtain a winning record by the end of the season. The girl’s current record stands at 4-5.
“This year is going a lot better than last year. Our team is working together a lot better. We need to become stronger as one, though. We are still a really young team and still growing,” sophomore center midfielder Claire Blakely said.
The girls have had several strong performances this year. One of the team’s strongest was a blowout against Oak Ridge on Nov. 16. The girls won, 8-0. Another strong performance was against Circle Christian Academy on Nov. 12, with a score of 2-1.
“We played really well [in the Circle Christian Academy game]. That was our best game because we communicated well and didn’t make any simple mistakes. We won the free kicks and goal kicks and everyone executed their passes well,” senior captain Meghan Linton said.
The girls have faced off against South Lake twice so far this season, and lost both games 4-2.
“[I was most looking forward to] the South Lake game because we played them in the preseason, and they beat us, but it was definitely a winnable game,” senior co-captain Laura Hart said.
Hart, though usually a striker, played in the goal during the Wekiva game, which the girls lost 5-1.
“[The Wekiva team] has two star players, and we just weren’t having a good game. They kept getting through everyone,” Blakely said.
The team’s strength lies within its midfield. Players such as sophomores Jordan Roy, Blakely and Nikkia Toomey are center midfielders. Despite these strengths, the team is still trying to fix on-field communication problems.
“[Our goal for the season is] to win more games and become more cohesive. We need to communicate better on the field between the offense and the defense so we know where everyone is on the field during a game,” Linton said.
The girls suffered a loss to Cypress Creek on Dec. 1, losing 4-2 after tieing the game 2-2 at the half
“Even though we did lose 4-2, we never quit fighting. We lost mainly because we were unlucky. Cypress Creek had lots of fluke goals and one ball hit a pole and went into the goal,” varsity coach William King said.
The girls count Timber Creek, Olympia, Edgewater and South Lake as district and metro rivals.
“Edgewater is one of our main rivals. They are our rivals in every sport, and soccer is no exception. They have a really good team. We have lost to them every year I have been on varsity so I really want to beat them,” Linton said.
Over the holiday break, the girls will compete at the Sunset Rotary Invitational from Dec. 29 to 31. On Jan. 5, the first Tuesday back from break, the girls will play home against Olympia at 7:30 p.m.
“Olympia was the hardest team we played last year. I want to see how our current team will do against them now,” Blakely said.
The girls remain positive about the remaining games, which include matches against Winter Park on Jan. 7, and Dr. Phillips on Jan. 15.