Sophomore Makoya Kourouma, senior Taylor Russell, and junior Sadie Austin play on the girl’s soccer team. This year, Russell plays midfield.

“I’m feeling pretty confident about the new season. We have a new system and we have more structure. I think this season’s really different because we have a lot of underclassmen and everyone’s gotten a lot closer and we all get along,” Russell said.

Kourouma plays on the JV team this year.

“I’m feeling pretty good about this season. I’m playing goalie this year, so it’s exciting,” Kourouma said.

The girls on the varsity team have worked hard to improve themselves for the new season.

“This year, it’s a lot more organized, and we have a lot more personalities that seem to be working really well together. I’ve also been friends with some of the girls since elementary and middle school so everything goes really smoothly,” Russell said.

The JV team doesn’t just practice to prepare for games.

“Our coach always has talked with us and makes sure that we show up to fit to talk about the game,” Kourouma said.

For the varsity team, the girls always make sure to get food before games.

“We usually have team dinners,” Austin said.

Practice isn’t the only way the varsity team prepares for games.

“We’ll usually have a dance party and then once we get to our games we’ll all really zone in and then depending on which game- if it’s a really intense game like Westlake, we all try to hype each other up to get excited and stay focused,” Russell said.

Like most other athletes, the girls sometimes get nervous before their games.

“I don’t get as nervous as I used to, but because I play goalie, I always get worried about getting scored on,” Kourouma said.

As a senior, Russel does her best to not get nervous before games.

“Depending on the team we’re playing or if we had a bad practice, I’ll sometimes get nervous. If we have a really bad practice then I’ll usually start to get a little nervous about the game, or if we have practice on a Monday and then a game on Tuesday. I try not to get nervous a lot because I think it’s
really fun and it’s my last year so I just try to enjoy it,” Russell said.

Since the new season, the girls have tried harder to stay positive.

“With me being a senior, I think it’s important that I do my best to continue to be a positive teammate,” Russell said.