The Optimist

Casey Papp

Photographer

South girls’ soccer kept rivalry week rolling on Wednesday, September 2nd, when they finished with a 1-1 tie against the Cougars.

“They played really well,” said JV soccer coach Sabrina Grossman. Both goals were scored during the second half, with freshman Olivia Krowe scoring the goal for the Panthers “[The feeling of scoring a goal] is hard to describe,” said Krowe. “Everyone just starts cheering. It was amazing.”

While she agrees they played well, senior Alli Weibel thinks they could’ve done better. “We were the better team, but we made a silly mistake,” she says. Freshman Abby Karcher agrees, saying they “could’ve possessed the ball better.” Weibel also commented that South’s “inexperience showed at times” against the Cougars.

Freshmen make up half of this year’s soccer team. But Grossman says the freshmen are really stepping up their game, explaining that they’ve improved a lot since the beginning of summer training. “They’re playing at the speed of varsity,” she said.

There are a total of eight freshman girls on varsity, six of whom are starters. Freshmen include Katie Head, Megan Kelly, Brooke Hochstetler, Kolynn Labis, Olivia Crowe, Abby Karcher, Shelby Stebbins, and Claire Glomm. “I think [the freshmen] are intimidated, but they realize they need to step up. They’re on the team for a reason,” said Weibel. “We’re getting a lot better,” said freshman Brooke Hochstetler. “[Varsity soccer] is definitely a different experience,” commented freshman Karcher, “You learn something new every time.”

Despite the age differences, the team has no problem getting along and working together. “The older girls are so nice,” said Karcher.

Weibel believes that because there are few upperclassmen, there is a lot more interaction between classes, creating a stronger team bond overall. Grossman explains that the girls spent a lot of time working on team building during summer training, which seems to have helped the team as the Panthers begin their season.

As for the rest of the season, the team has high hopes. Columbus North and Bloomington North at Sectionals look to be the toughest games ahead of them. Weibel is aiming for the team to win both Conference and Sectionals.

“I think we can be as good as we want to be. It’s all about confidence right now. If we can gain that confidence, we can go far,” said Weibel.

“We should have a really good season,” said Grossman.