Olentangy Orange Girls Soccer played Berlin on Thursday, Oct. 5. Berlin is one of Orange’s biggest rivals and it’s always a big game whenever the teams go head-to-head. The girls went into the game ready to win and were fairly confident about their ability to.
This year, Berlin had a rough tryout season with more than half of their girls quitting. Starting the game in the Orange stadium, it was pouring down rain and cold. The turf was wet and slippery but the girls were ready to go. From the whistle blow, the girls were fighting for possession of the ball. Orange kept the ball for Berlin’s side for most of the first half. The turf was so wet that many of the girls slipped and fell.
“It was a little rough judging the ball with it skidding a lot. I slipped a couple of times on clearances with the turf being wet,” junior soccer player Sydney Schwade said.
One of Berlin’s players got injured at around 22 minutes left. Gabbi Blendick and Sophia Prime were around the goal making runs but couldn’t get it in the back of the net. The horn blew for half time and the score was still 0-0.
A lot of fans left the game because of the weather but the girls still had fire in them to beat Berlin team’s and come out on top. The second half started and the audience could see the aggressiveness from far away with both teams. In the first 10 minutes of the half, senior Maryn Zavislak scored for Orange and the team ran to congratulate her. But, they let their guard down too quickly and Berlin’s Gianna Filia scored for the Bears to tie the game at 1-1. This really upset the girls but they continued to shoot and try to make it up. But as the game came to a close, they knew it was going to be a tie. The final score was 1-1, a tie for Berlin and Orange. The girls played amazing and can only hope they beat them next year.
“I wasn’t disappointed in the result of the game. I think we played very well and stuck with the ball until the last minute,” senior Cat Szauz said. “I was a little mad when Berlin scored and that we tied but at the end of the day, we played well and I’m happy with how it ended.”
