The whistle pierces through the air, signaling the start of a new play. The players sprint downfield, chasing the ball. Shouts to each other indicate the plan to score. The ball hits the ground and the colors of the jerseys fly through the air. One opportunity, one shot, one goal, the score to win the game. 

This year, the varsity girls soccer team fights through the season with no goals against them in the first round of districts, making them first place and undefeated. The team has been focusing on communication and passing during games, and overall, improvement from last year is easily seen, according to varsity center mid, junior Breland Mungia. 

“Our team chemistry has really improved, especially from the start of the season to now,” Mungia said. “We’ve also improved our passing and connecting our passes for long periods of time during the game. Our team defense has been incredible and we have shut out all the teams so far.”

Every morning, Monday through Friday, the girls start practice at 6:30 a.m. During practice, the team works on replicating game-like situations to be better prepared for their matches. Emphasis is placed on the speed of the plays as well as small scrimmages.

“We do a lot of skill practice,” varsity captain senior Bella Granada said. “We scrimmage, but at the same time we are doing one touch and two touch drills just to get our minds going and our feet moving.”

Another drill that the team does is called the fifteen point game. If a team member completes four passes against another team member in a tight space, the first player is allowed to score on either goal. 

“We can really focus and work on our passes in small spaces [with this drill],” varsity centerback sophomore Abby Castelli said. “It challenges us to change the point of attack, but [also] helps us in the games. You can catch the defense off guard and get to a bigger space [on] the field to have a better attack going forward.”

However, skill isn’t everything. Trust is an important factor in the game and communication is key on and off the field. To develop these skills, the team participates in dinners every Thursday and even shopping. According to varsity centerback sophomore Emily Rangel, having meaningful connections with your teammates is essential for success. 

“You make so many long-lasting friendships, and being with your teammates almost every day really lets you form a special bond,” Rangel said. “Bringing that onto the field is so important to the game because it creates chemistry that not every team has or can build.”

The seniors on the team will face a great difficulty leaving this year, and they are hoping to make this season worthwhile, according to Granada.

“[Leaving the team will be] hard honestly, [and] I try not to think about it,” Granada said. “I am so close to all the seniors [and we’re] so close to the juniors, so it’s really hard to think about us leaving them. We are trying to go far in the playoffs to really make the most out of this year.”

The team has many rivals in their district, including Pflugerville and Weiss. The team will continue to practice hard and keep their goals in mind. 

“We already [beat them] once so we just [have to] execute it again,” Rangel said. “[We must] come even stronger than we did the first time, put some goals in early, and make sure we defend well as a team.”