Undefeated. An achievement many teams hope for, but only a few achieve. The Lakes girl’s soccer team is etched in Lakes history as no other team in the conference could beat them. This is a team of soccer players that has been accumulating for years now. Coach Kevin Kullby is appreciative of his players for being not only leaders on the team but genuinely good people as well. The atmosphere they’ve built is truly something special that most teams never get to experience.
“It’s special and makes it even more special that we are playing well, we’re getting results, and even despite losing a game or two they’re very resilient.” Coach Kullby finds it hard to encapsulate everything this team is in one word. The truth is, this group is made up of very high-quality soccer players and they continue to prove that on the field.
A focal point of the team is the backline who all seem to be having a good season, especially Tessa Smith and Ella Sager. “We have never had two center backs be able to play the way they play,” says Coach Kullby. Tessa Smith, a four-year soccer athlete at Lakes has been more than impressive in her final year.
When asked one word she would use to describe the season and the team thus far, she responded with composure. Smith adds,
“Having composure during a game is key. It is why we have been on a winning streak.”
At any level of sports, pressure is guaranteed to mount up. The fact this team can maintain their composure regardless of the situation they face is the support that holds up their success. Most college coaches will agree with the importance of resilience and composure most would often add one more, coachability. The ability to accept criticism and improve your own game is a skill that can forge greatness from players. As a team, they understand this concept and utilize it to further their overall strength.
Another critical piece of this defense is senior captain, Carter Conway. Conway is a defensive midfielder which puts her in charge of a majority of the field. Needless to say, Conway is one of the few leaders of the team and makes practices more intense to better prepare the team. “We prepare ourselves for game-like situations but when we get to our games, especially in conference, we bring another level of intensity,” she says.
The intensity of these practices is only one pillar that supports the record they have to show for their season. The dedication to the program is really proving to be worth it as the girls placed first in conference in the best way possible, without a loss.
Their accomplishments will always have a place in each of their lives most definitely, however, they will also have a legendary spot in Lakes history as one of the few Lakes soccer teams to be conference champions. There have only been ten conference championships in both the boys’ and girls’ soccer history spanning back to 2006. Only five for just the girls. Now the 2024 girls soccer team becomes the eleventh in Lakes history, and the sixth for girls soccer. This outburst of a season leaves them with the potential to cross the two-hundred total win mark for all of the girls’ soccer teams that have come before them, needing a fourteen-win season to fulfill their destiny.
