“Our one and only goal we scored at the end of the game, it was a really fun moment and it brought us hope for our next games,” said sophomore Rhianna Farris. Alameda’s varsity women’s soccer team defeated Encinal on January 10, 2025. The final score was 7 to 1, putting the Jets’ record at 3 and 3. With Alameda having a 0.458 win percentage compared to Encinal’s 0.375 win percentage, Alameda was favored to win heading into match.
As with any major game, players take extra steps to help them perform better. For some it may be a special meal, or a nap, but for junior Fiona Fix, it was quite the opposite. “Usually I’ll have a gatorade because my mom gets them for me and she says they’re good for before games,” shared Fix. “And then I picked up a couple of my teammates and we just kind of hung out together, watched the JV (junior varsity) game in preparation.”
Sophomore Rhianna Farris, in an interview via text, also stated, “I took a fat nap and then I watched my Netflix show Gossip Girl, while doing my hair.”
While every girl has their own unique pre-game routine, all of them focus on slowing down and relaxing before big games.
As with Fix, senior Zoe Gilles, women’s soccer player, “drank a ton of water, and ate really good healthy food,” she said in an interview.
With many injuries throughout the game, even after the loss, players didn’t seem to blame the team’s ability.
“I think the island bowl was good, we lost 7-1 but i think we played hard,” said sophomore Sofia Ortega. In addition, junior Fiona Fix stated, “I think I did pretty well, it was a very hard game because my legs were cramping, and…towards the beginning I injured my ankle. But I think all of us were putting in a lot of effort and working hard as a team.”
This mentality was echoed throughout the team.
“I feel like my team played really good, we played really good as a team, and our last little goal was really good,” said Gilles. “I feel like I played pretty good, I definitely could have played a little more defensively, but overall I think I played pretty good.”
While morale was dampened originally, the team was quickly able to get fired up again. “I think [morale dropped] a little bit, I also think just because it’s a big game just because Alameda is our rival,” said Fix. “But all and all I think we did a good job at practice this week building up people’s spirits again, working hard to make sure that we put in even more effort next time.”
In preparation of big games, teams may come up with a special strategy to win, “We tried to keep a high press in hopes of scoring, but you know, against these tougher teams it’s hard to do that, so we just tried to defend and stay compact as a team,” said Farris.
Overall, the major loss did not seem to affect the Women’s team’s mentality to a great extent, rather, it left them with a sense of pressure in order to take down Alameda in their next match on January 31, 2025.
