Soccer is just one of the many competitive sports played at our high school. Last year, our girls soccer program had around 100 girls try out for only 20 spots on each team.

This year, there are Developmental Academy teams, which do not allow players on those teams to play at their high school.

“We have lost [around] four girls from the new Academy teams,” senior Molly Kube said. “Even though it was a tough loss, we still come out to every game strong. We miss the girls we lost  [in] every game [we play], but we also got the chance to gain an amazing new squad. The game is different without them in terms of speed and just play in general, but the new team has potential of succeeding greatly.”

Due to the new Academy teams and a few graduating seniors, varsity now has more young players. However, being such a young team and getting a handful of new players is not always a bad adjustment. 

“Going into this new season with 14 new players made me worried,” Kube said. “However, every girl on the team is so individually talented and has so much potential. Now we just need to work on our game as a team and understand how each player plays.”

Getting to know everyone on your team not just as a player but as a person helps with how well you work together on the field. Most new teams have certain things they need to work on to improve as a whole.

“We will see a lot of improvement from the beginning of the year to the end,” sophomore Rachel Medina said. “After playing our first game, it just wasn’t up to my standards, and I think we have a lot to change and work on, but once we do that we will be really good. We have a chance at CIF and going really far.”

Varsity has two captains this year. Team captains are not necessarily the girls who just work hard; they are the ones who know how to be a team player, have a good attitude and help pick up other players if they are down.

“Being captain comes with a lot of pressure and responsibilities,” Kube said. “You do not just have to lead your team on the field but you also have to lead them off the field. You have to make sure everyone is doing their part and making sure they feel good about themselves when they do something well in a game.”

Going from the freshman team to junior varsity to varsity, there is definitely a change in the way things are out on the field, whether it’s the pace or the aggressiveness.

“There definitely is a difference,” Medina said. “I played freshman last year, but now on varsity everyone is really fast and really physical.”

Having a very competitive soccer program, Carlsbad goes up against some of the top teams, but going against those teams helps our teams get better. Varsity recently played J Serra and they are the top team in the country, but our girls put up a good fight.

“Leading up to playing the number one team in the nation, meanwhile we’re ranked number eight in the county, was nerve wracking,” Kube said. “Everyone went into the game having the mindset of losing and getting destroyed. My job as a captain was to make sure that the team thought of this game just like any other game. My job was to make sure my girls did not lose their confidence and pride in who they are and our school. I was so proud of my teammates on Monday night for coming out strong and fighting till the very end. Even though we sadly lost 1-2, the team played great, and now we know what we need to work on in order to succeed in our future.”