Perseverance is one word that can be used to describe the Whitney Young Girls Soccer 2018 Season. Through many injuries and concussions, through plane rides and long drives, through the tears and sweat from the hard work left out on the field, we, as a team, have persevered. Our record is certainly a testament to that with strong wins and hard fought losses, no game was easy. After tying Lane Tech in conference and sharing the Premier League title with them, we went on to play Lane in the City Championship, May 10th at Toyota Park.

That game was a battle. Lane came out hard fighting for every ball and taking their chances but we didn’t back down. We stood our ground creating some opportunities in the first half but none of them resulted in a goal for us. By half time it was 0-0, nerves filled the air, the fans we rowdy and cheering, it was the type of game and energy we had missed the previous year because we ended up in 3rd place. We came out tough at the start of the second half but tired legs started to set in around the 70th minute and Lane sought their chance and ended up scoring the first and only goal of the game. The goal was hard to come back from. Our heads were not hung low but that goal still lingered in the back of our minds as we continued to play. As the final whistle blew, the score was 1-0 Lane. It was a hard pill for all of us to swallow, especially the seniors, who wanted just one City title to take away to college. As we headed back to the locker rooms with 2nd place medals draped around our necks, we sat in silence, which was an unusual occurrence for a team full of loud mouths and goofballs. It wasn’t the result we wanted but we played a hard game and persevered and played our brand of soccer. Keila Vega’ 18 said, “we were happy with how we played this year,” and I know everyone on the team can agree to that. “Right after City ended, we were already bonding and getting ready for our state game,” Vega said. She was right. Lane might have won City but we all knew we had something they could never have, we are and always will be a family.

Sadly, the regional semifinal game didn’t go in our favor either. We lost 2-0 to Glenbard West at Lyons, May 15th. That game might have been a harder pill to swallow than the City game, because that loss signified the end to the season and concluded the end to Whitney Young Soccer for the 11 seniors, including myself. The thought of no longer being with the same people I’ve spent 4 years with was difficult to grasp. Through 4 years I’ve developed and grown as a player and because of the girls and the coaches, I’ve developed as a better person. Soccer has been a huge part of my life, along with the other seniors for many years, and never playing again as a team is heartbreaking. But as we do best, we persevere and know we’ll always come back to visit.

Our little soccer family will always be one of my favorite parts of high school and I want to thank each girl and coach for contributing to that. I don’t know what I would have done without all of them and hopefully next year they’ll bring home a City Championship and make us all proud. As our head coach, Spero Mandakas says, “we can hold our heads proud,” we certainly can about the season and all the Whitney Young Girls Soccer Seasons to come.