On Tuesday, February 6th, the HMSA girls soccer team closed their season by playing against Wildwood and dedicating their game to the team’s Seniors. After not playing at Alondra Park for a while, the girls soccer team’s last game was scheduled at Alondra, their home. That night, they played with great effort and left the field with a smile on their faces, and their head up.

There were 8 seniors this season and they were the ones who started the game. The seniors that played were determined to leave it all out on the field and simply have fun, enjoy the game. They started off strong, with scoring opportunities and a strong defense. However, a goal was scored from outside the penalty box, with an accurate free shot from one of Wildwood’s offense.

The girls did not give up and continued to play with the intensity they started the game. They had really good offensive plays against Wildwood that got them really close to scoring; however, the midfielders from the other team often succeeded in bringing the ball back to the HMSA defense. Eventually, three more goals were scored from outside the penalty box. However, the goalie was excellent  and saved many shots throughout the game.

The first half ended with a lot of excitement, even though HMSA was at a disadvantage. The girls were happy to have many family members and friends on the sidelines cheering for them in motivational ardor. The score didn’t prevent them from enjoying their last game of the season. Mr. Kircher and Ms. Vazquez talked to the girls during the break to point out their strengths and the things they can work on second half to improve even more.

Starting the second half, all the senior started again and the girls were determined to score a goal and not let the other team score anymore. Fortunately, they procured their goal. HMSA’s defense remained strong and their offensive attacks were entailed in offensive attacks much more than the first half. About 15 minutes into the second half, Wildwood scored another goal. However, the girls were not disheartened and came back by scoring on them as well. Five minutes after the last goal Wildwood scored, Luisa Mejia scored a goal with an assist by freshman Briana Pinto. The game ended 5-1, but the girls were elated as the seniors had fun and everyone was satisfied with what they did out on the field. Mr. Kircher was proud of the girls’ effort and said that “the girls had a fantastic season this year. Our returning players showed great leadership to our younger players. The most important thing the ladies got was the sense of teamwork and pride. Only the toughest of players can make it through our season. We had to play in some of the worst conditions, rain and cold but no one complained. We have a great core of players returning for next year. We will miss our seniors.”

After showing sportsmanship and high-fiving the girls from Wildwood, the Aviators extolled their seniors with posters that the whole team made. The posters had thoughtful messages and every senior got their own poster. Senior night ended with many pictures and a lot of fun; they loved their last day as a team this season. Senior Luisa M. said, “It was crazy to believe that we were the ones receiving posters this year and knowing that we won’t play next season,” she added, “ I will always remember how everyone contributed something different, there were so many different personalities in the team and it made our team interesting, and funny”.