Heading into the girls soccer season, the team is heading into the new season with lots of new potential and high expectations. With eight new members on the team, five of them being freshman, the varsity team is excited for the new talent and in hope for lots of success.
Coming off of a tough loss during regionals that ended in penalty kicks, the team is more motivated than ever. Assistant head coach Rob Perry emphasized that growth and improvement are the main goals of the season. With their hard schedule, the team will be competing against some of the toughest teams.
Senior leadership will play a crucial role this year, captains Lily Remus, Maddy Cummins and Rhona Okada, along with other seniors Tess Uihlein, Anna Jasper, Camilla Gauthier, and Taylor Gaston, are expected to lead the team both on and off the field. Cummins expressed lots of excitement heading into her last season, she highlights her team’s preparation and energy.
Seniors celebrating 2025 regionals win. Photo Courtesy of Lily Remus
“This week we play one of our known head-to-head matchup teams, Crystal Lake Central. We have focused a lot on tactical and technical skills to prepare since we now have 8 new people joining our team, 5 being freshmen,” Cummins said. “It’s definitely a challenge to play a good team in your first game but with the speed and hard-work we have displayed as a team in practice it should help translate on the field.”
The addition of new players has brought both excitement and challenges, integrating new younger members into the varsity team requires adjustment, especially when they are playing against opponents that are more experienced than them.
“There are always challenges with new players and fitting into the system and lineup and giving them confidence that they can play at this level because it’s like playing against 8th graders to seniors,” said Perry.
Despite these challenges, the team is extremely optimistic about the impact of these new players. Senior and Captain, Lily Remus is excited to see the significant talent and potential this team has.
“We always play an extremely difficult schedule, arguably one of the hardest in the state. So while this can be quite downputting at times, it definitely pays off when we get to the playoffs because we have been playing competitively all season,” said Remus “We hope to work hard in the regular season even if that doesn’t always show in our record in order to be the most prepared for playoffs.”
Despite lots of challenges, the team is more excited and optimistic than ever. Their hard work and development throughout the season will hopefully lead them to their goal – to challenge the conference title and win regionals.