By JEREMY KOO
Staff Writer
Girls Varsity Soccer began the season well after a 2-0 victory over the Beckman Patriots on January 5. The team was heading into the game after a strong preseason showing with an impressive overall record of seven wins, three losses, and one tie. After the win over Beckman, their new record is 8-3-1.
The first half of the game resulted in a stalemate of 0-0, with both teams fighting hard not to give up a goal. However, Girls Varsity came out strong in the second half with midfielder Emma Goolsby (Jr.) scoring a quick goal in the first minute.
Before the final whistle was blown by the referees, forward Leyna Wood (Jr.) scored another goal in the 79th minute right before the end of the game, sealing the game at 2-0.
Although UHS had many offensive opportunities with a total of 12 shots and five of them on target, they were only able to convert two of them into goals. Adding among them were also five corners for University.
A veteran member of the Varsity team, defensive back Vicki Chen (Sr.) said, “It was definitely pretty exciting, because we had played well in preseason but this was our first league game and against a team that’s better than most of the other teams we played.”
Not only was the offense out performing the Patriots, but their defense was impeccable, resulting in a shutout. The core of the back-line consisted of Chen and centre-back Iva Petkov (Sr.)helping to reduce the number of shots Beckman took. This led to goalie Kerri Luttrell (Sr.) only needing to make just one save the entire game.
The outlook of the team for this season is very bright. Chen also said, “I’m really looking forward to this season because I really think this team can do some great things—this is the best we’ve done in my four years on the team.”
Girls Varsity looks to add to their record as they play their next game away against rivals Woodbridge on January 9.
