design: Hiya Patel
permission to print: Teresa Christian
15 minutes to the end of the game, the girls soccer team was still down by one at the state semi finals, and the audience was at the edge of their seats. But finally, the ball soared into the net, bringing the game to a tie when the buzzer rang and throughout over-time, the team remained dedicated to the game.
This season was one of many firsts for the girls soccer team, commonly known as OOGS.
As the team kickstarted its season with conditioning, it was not projected to do as well as it did. Even though there were several key players on the team, many seniors graduated from the team last year, leaving the team to find its rhythm again.
“From the outside looking in, most people in the high school soccer community may have felt it was a rebuilding year for us,” Head Coach Tim Lawrence said. “We graduated five senior starters this past spring who had started for three years.”
The team did not have its eyes set on the trophies and titles at the beginning, but after winning games, the players realized that they had the potential to have a successful post-season.
“At the beginning of the season, our hope was to build a very close group and have that start to help our outcomes on the field,” senior captain and goalie Jadia Kershaw said. “Once we realized we had a decent team, we started to focus on winning games and working together.”
As the team was also OCC, district and regional champions, as well as state semi-finalists, individual players and the team started to break almost all of the school records. The team set records for most goals and wins in a season and best record, while Kershaw had most shout-outs in a season, senior Kaelyn Valleau had most goals in a game and most individual goals in a season and Valleau and junior Lauryn Barringer shared most assists in a season.
“We had a great season this year and went further than any OOGS team has ever gone,” senior center forward Haylee Prime said. “We made it all the way to the state semifinals and played to the last minute in double overtime.”
The players also faced many challenges and tough competitors, but they remained dedicated to the game throughout the season.
“We play a challenging schedule and the girls have to be ready play at a peak performance level weekly,” Lawrence said. “The toughest teams we faced this past season in Central Ohio were: Dublin Jerome, Dublin Coffman, Berlin and New Albany.”
The success this new season brought the girls soccer program was a direct result of the effort the players put in during practices and the dedication they brought to the the field.
“We set similar goals and use similar coaching methods each year but the make-up of each team is different,” Lawrence said. “Obviously, there are returning players but each team will have new captains.”
The captains, Kaitlyn Colvert, Jadia Kershaw and Kaelyn Valleau were also an integral part of the team’s winning streak, as they helped build a community within the team. The captains had various responsibilities to take on and were committed to helping the team improve.
“As a captain, I helped lead the team on the field by communicating often and sorting out players,” Kershaw said. “Off the field, I helped create a positive team culture and a closely knit group between the girls.”
In the end, the bond between the players was what made the team a fierce competitor for the other schools, and what contributed to their many wins.
“I contribute the majority of our success to the great team atmosphere we had all year as we created a family and worked for each other every day,” Prime said. “Not many teams can say they made it as far as we did this year, but even fewer can say they had as dedicated players to their team on and off the field as we had.”
As this season has come to an end for OOGS, players hope to take this success into the next season.
“Our goals will be similar next season,” Lawrence said. “We strive to have strong team chemistry, the players to give 100 percent effort daily, win OCC and district, and have fun!”
