The girls’ soccer team officially finished their season by playing in the state semi-final game in Georgetown, Texas. After many rounds of playoff games, the girls worked their way to state and had an overall successful season.
The girls like to challenge themselves by playing in more competitive games to get ready for the playoffs.
“In order to prepare for the postseason, we began the year with some of the most competitive tournaments in the state,” said Coach Kara Walters, the head of the girls’ soccer team. “This exposed our players to the type of conditions we were going to face so we could work through the mental part of the game. Our district is very competitive, so that helped us work hard every week getting ready for playoffs.”
Throughout the season, the team formed a special bond that helps them to succeed on the field.
“The soccer season is five months long, and by the time we got to the playoffs, the chemistry with the girls was really peaking. Every team meal and bus ride brought them closer together,” said Walters. “One of the reasons that Boerne soccer has been so successful is the fact that most of these players grew up playing on the same teams and have such a history together.”
Being on the team helped guide the girls through high school and gave them traits to help them throughout their lives.
“It was an immediate family that I got to spend so much time with. They were very welcoming and inspiring throughout my high school career,” said senior goalkeeper Audrey Riordan. “They have taught me how to be a good team player, a hard worker both academically and athletically, and how to be a better me.”
Although the team won 19 games, one of their biggest accomplishments was beating Dripping Springs, one of their greatest rivals.
“What stood out the most to me was making my penalty kick, keeping us ahead of Drip. In the end, our team scored on all of our penalty kicks and our goalkeeper, Audrey, stopped two of their shots,” said senior Lorenna Garza. “Even though we lost to Drip twice in district play, we beat them when it counted. It was an awesome day to be a Charger.”
Many of the team members claim that soccer not only helped them to become better athletes, but taught them important life lessons as well.
“Ever since beginning soccer at the age of four, it has taught me important lessons including how to win, lose, work as a team, communicate, and deal with challenges,” said Garza. “The most important thing I will take away from all these years of soccer is self determination and self confidence to set goals and work hard to achieve them.”
All of the seniors earned Academic All State Honors — a huge accomplishment. The team placed 3rd overall in the state out of 250 5A schools in Texas in their semi-final state tournament.
The girls and their coach plan on working to keep the winning pattern into the next year.
“Even though we will lose 11 seniors, the talent we have coming up is strong. Being successful in back to back seasons takes a balance of both the confidence that you’ve gained and a humility to keep working as hard as you did to get there,” said Walters. “If we can find that balance, I believe we will be just as successful.”