Touchdown! Goal! Ace! Point

Hawkeye

SPORTS FALL SPORTS WEREN’T KICKED AROUND THIS SEAS N

By Efrata Solomon

WOMENS’ SOCCER

This year has been a historic one for the women’s soccer team. With a record of 12 wins, four losses and four ties, this is the first time in 31 years that the varsity team has gone to the 3A state tournament, marked by their win over Oak Harbor H.S., 1-0. They also ranked first at the 2A/3A WesCo standings out of 16 other teams. As of writing this, the season has just ended, concluding a remarkable season with a loss to Lakeside H.S. 3-0 on Nov. 11 in the second round of the state tournament.

The winning goal against Oak Harbor might’ve been a fluke, but the achievements of the varsity soccer team absolutely weren’t.

“This has been an amazing season, and we’ve worked really hard to get to state. We were undefeated for seven to eight games [at the start of the year] and we’ve achieved all the goals we set before the season,” junior forward Natalie Cardin said. She scored the goal against Oak Harbor and led the team this year on goals and assists, nineteen and seven respectively, followed by sophomore midfielder Ava Hunt.

“We’ve had a really good season for attacking and defending. We haven’t let in more than one goal per game and attackers scored about 1-2 goals per game. We’re putting it all on the field [this year],” senior goalkeeper Sierra Sonko said.

For Sonko, her goal of seeing her team make it to playoffs not only was fulfilled but surpassed this year, representing a radical change from the team record her freshman year.

“During my freshman year, we had 10 straight losses and not a single win. I scored one goal as a goalkeeper and that was basically my flex for the season. From that, I just thought of high school sports as just something to do for fun, but since we’ve been getting better I’ve started to take it more seriously,” Sonko said.

However, such an impressive season didn’t come without adversity. Cardin had a deep tear in her quad to deal with the entire season and had to sit out for a few games.

“It really took a toll on me,” she said. “It felt horrible to not be on the field and be able to support my team.”

Sonko also reflected on her dislocated knee before playoffs last year (4-4-3) and how it affected the season.

“We had good games last year but [my injury] set back our defense and we played a lot of good offensive teams. It was the hardest moment for me where I wanted to play but couldn’t, and it also lowered our team’s mood and messed up our mindset,” Sonko said.

A standout on the team this year has been sophomore midfielder and defender Claire August, also known as “Claire-bear.”

“Claire is so cool, she’s really a positive role model for our soccer team. She fights like a rabid dog over the ball during games and fights for our team with everything she’s got,” Sonko said.

“She’s humble so she would never say that herself,” Cardin added. “But she doesn’t get enough credit on our team.

Another standout on the team this year was junior midfielder Daniela Cortezzo.

“Dani has improved the most out of anyone on the team. She was already a great player before, but now she’s our most versatile player. She’s powerful, fast, and helps with defense,” Cardin said.

As the season ends, losses will be felt among the team with the departure of the seniors. Sonko herself will be leaving the team to play D1 soccer at Sacramento College.

“I’ve been happy to share this season with my girls,” Sonko said. “Everyone on the team is amazing and [deserves] flowers, butterflies and kisses. I’m really sad to be separated from such lovely people.”

“We’re gonna miss our seniors, but we have such a good team and core right now. We have a big reputation to uphold next year,” Cardin said. H

Senior Sierra Sonko sends the ball across the field in a game against Stanwood.

SERAS BRYNER | HAWKEYE

WOMENS’ VOLLEYBALL

On the volleyball team, the varsity team set an overall record of 6-12, just losing out to Ferndale High School in a three-set win, where the Golden Eagles moved on to the 3A District 1 Tournament. The JV team has a record of 7-10, ending the season by a loss to Cascade High School.

However, the C-Team for volleyball has been a true standout among fall sports in general, going undefeated 15-0 overall and 13-0 at conference games. They finished off their triumphant season with a win against Cascade High School.

“We have a very tightknit community here. Everyone knows each other,” freshman outside hitter Georgia Rahla said.

The C-team is mostly made up of freshmen, with three sophomores and two juniors, making it even all the more impressive that a team with relatively little experience in high school sports could pull off such a record.

Something that helped the team perform to its fullest extent was Sharalee MatthewsMalloy, the head coach of the volleyball team, and her advice to players.

“If we mess up, our coach would say ‘fix it, don’t beat yourself up,’ and I would say to myself, ‘this is my responsibility and I will fix it,’” Rahla said.

Although the C-team’s record might give you the impression that they’re infallible, don’t get it twisted. The volleyball team has had their fair share of struggles throughout the season.

“A struggle we’ve had to face is when we’ve gotten behind in points at the game against

Meadowdale. Our coach told us to get our energy up because we need it now (and they won 2-1!) Volleyball relies a lot on energy and momentum, so if you don’t have it you’re not going to win,” Rahla said. Another example of the team overcoming the odds can be seen at their game with Arlington. “My favorite moment of the season has to be when we beat Arlington because [they were] a very tough and scrappy team. A lot of them were like trees and the tallest of us was only 5’7”, but our commitment to volleyball helped us out,” Rahla said. Some standout members of the team were sophomore outside hitter and libero (back-row defensive specialist) Sophia Argueta. “Sophia would play back-middle and everytime it looked like the ball was going to drop she would always dive to get it, and I was like ‘how?’” Rahla said. Another standout was freshman outside hitter Josie Davis. “This is Josie’s first year playing, but I was really impressed by her. She has the power, she can hit and serve hard, and she’s really consistent Junior Shady Meyer spikes the ball in a with her serves,” Rahla varsity volleyball game in the Terraceum. said. SERAS BRYNER | HAWKEYE The 2023-2024 season of volleyball looks great for not only the C-team, but varsity and JV as well, with hopes of bringing in more wins and records next year. “I’m just excited to play again. Volleyball is a huge part of my life and I’m excited to see anyone again and get to know this wonderful sport [better]. I also want to get to know new kids next year,” Rahla said. H