The SJCP girls soccer season is winding down. Playoffs have begun, and the IAAM B-Conference Championship is quickly approaching.
Since my last entry, there has been a lot going on. First of all, the team ended conference play with the first-place spot, giving us home field advantage for the playoff games, as well as a bye for the play-in game.
This past weekend, we played in the Maryland Independent Private School Tournament. Only three teams entered for the girls side, which included us, Bishop Walsh, and St. Maria Goretti.
Two games were played on Saturday, and the winner and second place team advanced to the final on Sunday. We won both games Saturday, therefore, we played Sunday in the final. It was a very aggressive game and the score was close, until the 2nd half when we came out on top. Jennie Ballenger scored all 3 goals, topping Goretti’s lone goal. It was good to get a tournament win under our belts as we advanced into playoffs.
Our first playoff game was Tuesday, Oct. 27, against Garrison Forest. During regular season play, we defeated them 4-1, but playoffs are a whole different story.
Everyone is fighting to win, because if you lose, you are out and the season is done. The weather conditions were perfect for our team: a little rainy, and a very muddy field.
Teams usually come to our field from their perfect, professional turf fields, and they hate it. But we love it, because we are used to the surface and know how to compete on it.
The game started out with Garrison Forest getting the first goal, but we responded by scoring pretty quickly Then we scored 2 more goals, and held them there. At the beginning of the second half, they got 2 quick goals, and the game was close again. With less than 10 minutes left, Jennie Ballenger came through for the team and scored the game-winning goal.
We held them and just possessed the ball for the rest of the game, until the referee finally blew the whistle, letting us know we made it to the next round. The feeling was amazing! We were in; one step closer to the championship game. The rest of the team ran out onto the field and everyone was laughing and smiling, giving each other hugs.
The next game playoff game is Thursday. We don’t know yet who we are playing, but it doesn’t matter. We have the heart and skill to defeat our competitor as long as we play our game. I know our team can do great things, which we have been doing, and can make it to the championship. In my heart, we are already champions.
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