By Lindsey Scott
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With a legacy of 16 years of Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) Championships behind them, the MHS Junior Varsity (JV) Girl’s Soccer Team successfully protected their title with their 17th win. The JV girl’s soccer team won the game with a score of 7-0 against Castle High School on Jan. 14 at Roosevelt High School. Their legacy lies in their OIA championship streak, but it also exists in the traditions that were created within this close knit team.
“When we arrived at the stadium you could tell we were all nervous, with all the people there supporting and cheering us on. Me personally, I was excited and a little nervous too. When (Freshman) Jaylen Lum scored within the opening seconds, all the nervousness went away and we could all finally breathe, but it wasn’t over yet. Throughout the game my adrenaline continued to pump, and with each goal that was scored we could feel the excitement start to build and couldn’t wait for the final whistle,” said Center Defender Freshman Madison Isa-Real.
Though the game caused a lot of nervousness, the players and coaches were confident in the work that they had put into the season beforehand. “Pregame was a lot of anxious energy by both players and coaches since we had to wait an extra hour because the prior game had gone to a shootout. The players went into the game wanting to play and the coaches felt confident they’d do well. We had a won a great semifinal game two days prior against Kaiser and I think (we) had a little momentum going into the championship game,” said Head Coach, Natalie Goo. “Going into the game, we were all nervous. We all wanted to keep the winning streak alive so we weren’t the first ones to lose after 16 years. I didn’t start, so in the beginning I was nervous for the other people, but when they called me in, I was nervous for myself too,” added Center Midfielder Freshman Danean Wurlitzer.
Seventeen years as the JV girl’s soccer OIA champions has brought in multiple traditions, some as small as wearing warm up shirts the day before the game. “During the game, whenever someone from the outside is going in we high-five each other and tell them that they did well. After the game, we all get together and make a loud cheer for the other team, shake their hand and congratulate them on a good game,” said Isa-Real. Wurlitzer added, “Well, as many of the teams at Mililani do, we wear our warm up shirt to school before the game. There aren’t many traditions, but we do pray right before a game for good health and a great game.” Goo elaborated, “Our captains share some words with the team before each game; positive things to get them going and focused.”
At the end of the day, putting aside the championship, the team credits their season to their parents, coaches and most importantly, each other. “I think that we have continued to win OIA championships because of the girls that play, we’re all very close and we play well together. Another thing is that the coaches push us to our full potential with the conditioning and the regular practices, they always make it different so we can always work on new things,” said Isa-Real. Goo added, “We get a lot of girls that try out each year and I feel very fortunate that we get to pick the best from a huge group. The club coaches work well with the girls so they come into tryouts pretty skilled and in condition. Our job as high school coaches is to make sure these girls from different clubs mesh (together well) and play our style of soccer. It also helps that I coach soccer at the middle school, so most of the players already know my coaching style and (I may have) formed a bond with them prior to coming to high school.”
As a successful soccer season comes to an end, and with the addition of a 17th OIA championship, the team continues to work hard and strive for the best as they work for a 18th title.
