The score was now 2-2. The pouring rain drenched the players as they only had 3 minutes left on the clock. This game would determine if the girls soccer team would qualify for the playoffs. The loud cheers from both the bench players and spectators echoed throughout the whole field. Within the blink of an eye, the ball was in front of the goal, the opposing team took a shot, and we all watched in fear as this would determine whether we won or lost.
The girls soccer season began in the hot summer of July, their minds set on revenge and their hearts set on winning. The girls worked from 9-11 a.m. at Calvert Vaux Park every morning, dealing with the sweltering heat and grueling fitness tests, but they still managed to push forward and have fun. Everything from running 3 miles under 30 minutes, to doing a Fartlek run (6 laps under 10 minutes whilst changing speeds), these girls persevered and eventually made it to their first game on Monday, September 11 against John Jay High School.
Taking place on Parade Grounds, the girls were defeated with a score of 3-0. Although it is upsetting to lose the first game, they did not let that affect their attitude. They continued on with their practices, using that loss to work on what they did wrong. This would eventually lead to their first win of the season on Thursday, September 14 against New Utrecht as the stressful game ended with a score of 1-0.
The next three games followed a similar pattern as the first two. They lost against Brooklyn Tech with a score of 5-0, gained a win against Fort Hamilton with a score of 1-0, and lost to Murrow with a close score of 2-1. Their next game however ended up with a tied score of 1-1 which was unexpected, but not terrible as they still had a chance to make it to the playoffs.
Their hopes were raised more when they gained their victory against Madison, who they were never able to defeat in years prior. It was a great achievement and added to their burning desire to win. This win would give them an opportunity to make it to the playoffs even if they were to tie against Midwood which lessened their stress a bit for this upcoming game.
On October 20th at 4 p.m., they began their last game. It was a rainy day and everything was riding on this game. People on the sidelines were keeping track of the score throughout the match- 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2. The ball came to the opposing team and they took a shot… and the goal was scored. There were still 3 minutes left with a glimpse of hope that they could make a comeback, but it would not last as Midwood would score their 4th goal and end the game with their victory.
When asked how they felt about the way the game ended, senior Elisabeth R0driguez from the team said, “I felt that we tried really hard and I was upset that we lost but I gave it my all and I’m proud of that” Although the result wasn’t what they wanted, the girls held their heads up high. They continued on with their senior night where they reminisced about their favorite moments and memories during the season as they said goodbye to their seniors. Senior Emely Rojas Carrillo stated, “My favorite part of the season was the practices because I was able to play without the pressure of winning or losing.”
This season was full of hardships and struggles that the girls had to overcome, but it wasn’t easy. Coach of the team, Mr. Barkley remarked that “The biggest challenge of this season was injuries. Injuries was huge for us, there was never a single game where we had every single player available to be chosen because of injuries and a variety of other reasons”.
The girls put their bodies and souls into these games, fighting for the victory and sadly didn’t achieve that. What can only be done now is to learn from the mistakes and focus on the next season.
This marks the end of the 2023 Girls Soccer season. The seniors are now leaving their uncompleted quest onto the next set of players, in hopes that they can finish what they have started. We now look forward to the future, where John Dewey will have another chance at a championship.
