Focusing in on the ball, midfielder Henley Patak ’27 moves to gain back possession of the ball from Viper offense. The Vipers and their aggressive offense proved to be a challenge for the Warriors, preventing them from scoring more than one goal.
Eyes on the ball, Giselle Garcia ’27 surges past Viper defense into an unattended pocket of the field to prepare to shoot. While the Warriors got many attempts at the goal, only one of them was successful.
Fighting against Viper offense, midfielder Giselle Garcia ’27 looks for the ball after she shoots it down the field to her teammates. Garcia played a pivotal role in consistently driving the ball back to the Viper half.
Locking eyes with her fellow teammates, defender Ella Smith ’27 gets ready to throw the ball to Warrior offense. The last few minutes of the game consisted of a series of rapid throw-ins from both teams, with both the Vipers and Warriors trying to secure a last minute win.
Concluding their victory-packed season, the JV girls soccer team faced off against district foe Vandegrift, on Friday, March 8, at the Warrior Bowl. From the windy weather to an entirely new starting lineup, complete with a passionate Viper crowd packed into the bleachers, the game was a compilation of unknown variables for the Warriors, bursting their victory bubble to end the season with a 1-1 tie.
From the very beginning, the game was shaping up to become unlike any other the Warriors have played. While they started off strong by immediately gaining possession, the Warriors lost it just as quickly by the pressuring Vipers who eagerly drove the ball down the field to the Warrior half. With both teams beginning to understand that they were facing a much more aggressive opponent, the game began to shift from a fast-paced series of offensive tactics towards a slower series of dribbling the ball up and down the field while both teams attempted to scope each other out.
As the Vipers began to gain the upperhand and move into Warrior territory, they pushed far enough to shoot an attempt at the goal, almost coming to fruition when the Warrior goalkeeper stumbled, but the ball eventually went out of bounds, coming to the aid of the Warriors. Almost never being forced to take such a defensive stance so early in any game, the Warriors were exploring uncharted territory, perhaps due to their shuffled starting lineup.
“We have a lot of injured players this year, so we had to start a little differently,” goalkeeper Bri Allid ‘27 said. “Overall they did very well to execute the plan, and we did end up getting that first goal [with them].”
After a long stretch of keeping the ball in their own half, the Warriors were able to push past the Viper defense deep into the Viper half. Utilizing seamless teamwork, the Warriors were able to gain ground quickly enough to allow Jay Ziegler ‘27 the opportunity to shoot. Although the ball ended up going out of bounds, the Warriors secured a corner kick soon after, kickstarting a rapid series of aggressive maneuvers from the Warrior offense, eventually scoring the first goal of the evening.
With increased pressure to match the Warrior goal with one of their own, the Vipers made their way back into the Warrior half where they appeared to be perfectly set up to shoot, however two fumbled possessions cost them two potential goals. Matching the Vipers’ aggressive attitude on the field, their side of the bleachers was packed with passionate parents and siblings, each shouting their insistent complaints at the referee when he seemed to be calling Viper penalties consistently and ignoring Warrior ones. Much of the end of the first half was filled with penalty kicks in favor of the Warriors, with Viper spectators growing angrier by the minute.
“I know we could’ve gotten a lot more shots,” defender Mya Mitchell ‘26 said. “I know we could’ve won [the] game, but it was [pretty] tough.”
As the game moved into halftime, both teams came back with refreshed aggression, pushing at one another with equal force. Much like the first half, both teams worked actively to push the ball up and down the field. The game began to stall as both teams’ utilized their defense and offense to their best, and any potential advances to the goal were prevented by the goalies on both sides. However, during one of the Viper attempts, the ball soared around the Warrior goalie to what looks like it was headed out of f bounds, but then scooped into the very edge of the net, giving the Vipers their first goal. The score now 1-1, both teams forcefully pushed to gain possession of the ball and score the winning goal.
“We [really] pushed through,” Allid said. “[But] it just wasn’t hard enough to get that overall win.”
Continuing into their stalemate, both teams began to appear tired and winded out as they continued their aggressive onslaught against one another. Energy-packed and fast-paced until the very last second, second half neared its end with penalties on both ends, rapid throw-ins from the Warriors and Vipers alike, and both teams surging past the other to gain as much ground as possible. However, at the very end, both teams simply proved too much for the other and were unable to secure a second goal, ending the game, and the Warrior’s season, with a 1-1 tie.
“We were working really hard [today] and I think we definitely could have won,” Allid said. “But I think we did really good [overall] and on the inside, it’s kind of a win in our hearts.”
The JV girls soccer team successfully concluded their season with numerous back-to-back victories, keeping losses to a minimum.
