Lady Royals Varsity Soccer Perseveres

The theme of the women’s varsity soccer program this year quickly became PERSEVERANCE. After graduating the best defense in team history—a defense that only allowed 10 goals and had 14 shutouts—the team knew it would take hard work to continue the success of the previous few seasons. A difficult opening schedule, along with a couple of heartbreaking ties, left the team with a 2-3-3 record at the halfway point of the season. The Royals rallied around James 1:2-4, about facing trials and testing our faith in order that we may be mature and complete. Over the next 10 games, the team remained undefeated, outscoring opponents 33-1, and recorded eight shutouts in a row before falling in the District Semifinal game to end their run. During this period, the Royals overcame injuries, bad weather, and the flu as they learned exactly what perseverance means.
Numerous achievements highlighted the 10-game winning streak, and many of them involved the four seniors. Erin Craig and Lauren Steele started the winning streak with the biggest highlight of the year. Erin sent a cross in from the corner that Lauren headed into the goal to score in the first 12 seconds of the Berlin Hiland game. In the next game, Rachel Coyne recorded a hat trick (three goals) as she became the leading career goal scorer in CVCA women’s soccer. She would go on to receive Tri-County League Player of the Year and Second Team All-State honors, and finishing her CVCA career with 48 goals. Heather Truthan completed the highlights with a “golden goal” in the Sectional Final, scoring the game winner from 40 yards out in overtime. These seniors have enjoyed the most success of any class, posting four consecutive winning seasons averaging 11 wins each year. Next year’s team will look to build on the tradition and recent success of the program as they continue to persevere.