The Miramonte girls’ varsity soccer team is looking strong as they head into the home stretch of their season. They are currently ranked second in their Diablo League of 13 teams with seven wins and one loss.

After losing in the first round of NCS last season, the girls are ready for the playoffs this year. “NCS will be difficult but our team has been playing extremely well this season and I believe we have a good chance of winning it if we continue to perform,” captain Alison Whipple ‘19 said. According to MaxPreps, the girls are tied for second in NCS Division III rankings to Petaluma.

January 11 the girls beat one of their biggest rivals, Alhambra, who kicked them out of NCS last year. “I think our team’s strongest game was our recent one against Alhambra. We went down a goal early, but were able to bounce back quickly and score two goals against them in five minutes,” Alison Whipple said. The varsity girls won 4-2, ending the Alhambra Bulldog’s winning streak. “In the Alhambra game we went into it knowing it would be a tough game so our mindset was we just needed to do what it took to win. They’re such rivals because they are an extremely aggressive team and last year they beat us. I thought the whole team played really well in that game as all the goals were scored collectively,” Ariel Steinberg ‘21 said.

The captains this season are seniors Alison Whipple, Teveen Aghababian, and Taylor Johnson. “It’s a very cool experience being able to be a captain. I love being able to be a leader not only on the field but off it as well,” Whipple said.

For some of the club soccer players, the league they played in had a rule preventing players from participating in both club and high school soccer. Some of the girls who didn’t participate in high school soccer last year because of this rule have joined the team this year. “Having the addition of many clubs players that were not able to play helped a lot. Also, I think that as a team, we are clicking and have a lot of trust in one another,” Whipple said.

At the Ukiah tournament December 15, the girls went undefeated winning 8-0 and 4-0 in their two games. In only 12 games so far, the varsity team has scored a collective 44 goals. January 21 the girls lost their away game Campolindo 0-1. The varsity girls’ most important game is home on February 1 against the current leader of their league, Northgate. This game determines who takes home the league title.

Leading the team are Whipple, Isabel Fine ‘19, and Olivia Grillo ‘20. “I think our greatest strength is having an entire team that is supportive of one another. If one person makes a mistake, we pick them back up again and encourage them,” Whipple said.