Junior Isabelly Barros runs down the field against two Medford players to look for a goal. Photo taken by Abhishek Rana.
After a long and competitive season with ups and downs, the Malden High School’s girls soccer team said farewell to the seniors, as well as the season. With a record of 5-11-1 the girls played their senior game of the season on Wednesday October 26 against Medford. The girls all shared that they had mixed emotions, being sad at the results of the game but proud that they had given all they had.
Senior Natalie Rodriguez shared that one of her fellow teammates she will definitely miss on and off the field is sophomore Francesca Reyes. After 17 games, she still kept determination and along with everyone else, kept going until the very last minute. For Reyes, she felt “really nerve racking” right before their last game because the season as well as their last game, did not turn out how they had expected.
Underclassmen like Angela Tejada-Soliz and Reyes both shared that they already miss the season and can not wait for the season to start all over again next year.
One piece of advice senior captain Felicia Lombardi shared with Reyes before the game started, was “no matter what the outcome [was] of the game, [she] had to be confident and [that she has] potential. When asked what she would miss the most about the season, Reyes said “the seniors [because] a lot of the leadership would be lost, [however Reyes] know[s] that others will fill in their place.” Now that the season is over, the seniors are really missing the season more than ever. Senior Natalie Rodriguez stated “all [she] can say for the girls is to make every moment count because four years goes by so fast.” Senior Cleverina Cong along with Lombardi both added on, saying that “playing soccer has definitely been one of the most rewarding experiences in high school. The only advice [Cong wants to] leave [her] fellow athletes with is to embrace challenges [Lombardi] went further on by saying that “whether on the field or off it is important to continue to challenge yourself.”
Coach Rick Caceda, who has been coaching the girls soccer team for several years, will definitely miss the seniors a lot because he has been coaching a few of them since they were freshmen. Although he is excited to see what new talent the underclassmen will bring, he will always remember the memories and talent the senior girls have brought to the Malden High soccer program.
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