The Varsity Girls’ Soccer Team is looking to claim its title as league champions after finishing second last year in the Pacific Coast League. Last season, the team went to the division one playoffs but had their run cut short after an unfortunate 2-0 loss against Tesoro.

This year, the PCL has changed due to the introduction of a new team joining the league. With the addition of Sage Hill, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) decided to split the league into two divisions. This year, the top two teams to place in each division will make it to CIF. 

“It’s definitely different and just makes our league games that much more important for our future opportunities,” senior captain Kate Stenta said.

Because of the Pacific Coast League (PCL)’s separation into two distinct divisions, UHS will be grouped with Beckman, Portola and Woodbridge, the top-ranked PCL teams from 2022. While the team considers itself evenly matched in its division, it is hard to predict which teams will emerge at the top of the league.

With the addition of Sage Hill, teams will play their divisional competitors twice. Meanwhile, they will only play the remaining teams in PCL, Irvine, Laguna Hills and Northwood, once.

“It will be harder to qualify for CIF but we believe we can still do it,” senior captain Mia Kim said.

The team lost 11 seniors from last season, creating room for new players to step up and fill their spots. 

“It’s a completely different team with a lot of new faces but despite all that, we have worked really hard in the off-season and we are ready to play as a team,” Stenta said.

To overcome the loss of players from last season, the team trained five days a week during the off-season. 

“During the off-season, we were disciplined as a program,” Kim said. “We focused on honing our skills and bonding as an entire team. After preparing for this season all summer and fall we are very excited to get on the field and play.”

Head coach Cole Fipps focused on honing the team’s tactical and logistical performance to play at the highest level as a team. 

“Our goals for this season are winning our division of PCL and making a deep run in CIF,” Stenta said. “We have a lot of amazing potential this year and I’m excited to see what we make out of it.”

With the majority of the team being seniors, the girls’ soccer team hopes to use their large roster to their advantage and have a successful season.