For the past three years, The Lakes Girls Varsity Soccer team has shown many successes on the field. With the leadership and dedication exemplified by the eight seniors, the team seeks to repeat both their conference and regional title. The underclassmen in the program mention that these successes wouldn’t have been possible without the seniors’ contributions to the Lakes soccer program.
After last year’s conference and regional victories, the team has confidence and goals set as they kick off their season. Senior Goalkeeper Grace Hener and Midfielder Anya Silber both have big goals.
“[We want to] win regionals again this year, win sectionals as well, and have fun while developing good team chemistry,” Silber and Hener said.
Those goals seem very achievable for the team, especially with the leadership the seniors exhibit to the underclassmen. Junior Cici Hopkins as well as other underclassmen admire the seniors for their dedication.
“[All] of our seniors find a great balance of making sure everyone works hard but they also make soccer events fun, ” Hopkins said.
Without the seniors’ dedication and guidance, it’s obvious the team would operate very differently. Recently, the team kicked off their season opener on a high note, with a victory over Prairie Ridge. While the team prepares for a tough schedule ahead, their work ethic during practices will shine on the field.
“All of our seniors have put in countless hours of training and hard work to make these past seasons successful,” Hopkins said.
From the rainy practices, to team dinners, to harder games, the seniors have helped communicate and keep everyone in line. Junior Goalkeeper, Grace Coughlin, shared the team’s pre-game ritual.
“[We] all huddle up and say affirmations we want or need during the game, making sure we’re all on the same page,” Couglin said.
These experiences are vital to the underclassmen, and help guide them through tough moments on the field, and help to ensure everyone is working towards the same goal.
Although there have been many positives and successes on the team, senior Taylor Annexstad has faced her fair share of obstacles. Unfortunately, last summer, Annexstad dealt with an ACL tear that prohibited her from playing for months.
“Taylor has done so much work and done a lot of therapy to get herself better. Her mindset through her recovery is so inspirational because I’ve never seen Taylor be negative or give up when things got hard,” Hopkins said.
These examples of resilience and dedication have inspired many athletes, even beyond her teammates.
When looking ahead to next season, there will definitely be a dramatic change in the team, with losing the strength and dedication of these eight seniors.
Hopkins and Coughlin both expressed that they hope to fulfill the leadership roles the seniors have exhibited towards them.
Caughlin announced that she hopes to lead the team to yet another successful season next year, especially since it will be the last year Kevin Kullby is coaching the team. Kullby has been a vital key to the victories of the program along with the passion of the seniors.
“[We] hope to keep [our] mentality so we can have another productive season,” Hopkins said.
