On Monday March 5, the girls varsity soccer team had their very first scrimmage of the spring season. They played against Freedom HS in Woodbridge.

The team won the game with a grand score of 6 to 1. Junior, Alison Scott, scored three goals at the scrimmage. Soon after, junior, Jennifer Chavez, and freshmen Madison Cruz and Laila Lopez scored a goal each to bring the score up to a 6. The girls were really excited to have won their first scrimmage. Scott says it was a great boost of confidence especially since it was their first scrimmage of the season.

“It felt really good to win since it was a big change from last season,” sophomore Lindsey Keyes said.
On Wednesday, March 7, the girls played against Freedom HS (South Riding). Unfortunately, they lost the game by a score of 8 to 1.

“I just think we need to change our mentality and think positively because this is a new season, we have new players and new coaches and we’re building something that’s really special, so moving forward we need to have that in mind,” girls varsity soccer team coach, Lindsey Ottavio said.

The girls all agree that they could have pressured more at the top half of the field and also that they could improve on passing techniques as a whole.
They all saw a tremendous change in the start of the second half of the scrimmage that they wish they had started off with.

“My goals for the girls this season is pretty simple, we’re just looking to start establishing the program and also working on our cohesiveness but also making this soccer team something to be proud of,” coach Ottavio said.

Every day after school, both varsity and junior varsity gather to practice from 3:30-5:00 p.m. A typical practice for the team usually starts off with a couple stretches for their legs and arms.

Once their muscles are warmed up they start to do warm-up drills like working on passing or possession. Finally, the team works on shooting the ball as well as other techniques and they practice some new skills to use for future games and scrimmages.

The team has a set formation of 4-3-3 which they usually use at their games. This formation means that there is four defenders, three midfielders, and three forwards on the field at a time.

Each and every girl on the soccer team has their own way to prepare for their games. This can be anything from stretching sore muscles to getting more practice by themselves aside from their team practices. “I prepare for games by eating good and going to the trainers when I feel like I need to,” junior Anissa Cheikh said.

Scott says she gets prepared for a game or scrimmage by showing up to practice ready to work really hard.
The girls will have their first official game on Monday, March 12th against Edison HS here at the stadium field. They are looking to keep their positive attitudes and confidence to win against Edison on Monday.