Girls’ Soccer Narrowly Loses C.I.F. Quarterfinals to La Canada

Rebecca Lynskey, Staff|March 4, 2014

Sophomore Lauren Thunen challenges a La Canada player. March 3 2014. Photographer: Rebecca Lynskey.
Sophomore Lauren Thunen challenges a La Canada player. March 3 2014. Photographer: Rebecca Lynskey.

Girls’ varsity soccer (13-4-5) lost C.I.F. quarterfinals 1-2 against La Canada High School on March 3. After making it all the way to CIF quarterfinals, the Sage girls lost to their competitor La Cañada High only after a ten round shootout.

“You know what, I’m just really proud of everything we’ve accomplished this season,” comments sophomore co-captain Janis Jin after the tough loss. Jin emphasizes the girl’s incredible teamwork, “We played hard, and we played honorably. We never turned on each other. We trusted each other and coach Mike, and that’s another thing I’m incredibly proud of.”

This was an eventful season for the girls soccer team as they improved leaps and bounds and earned themselves several landmark titles. After defeating Vasquez High School (2-0) and Paloma Valley High School (1-0), the soccer qualified for C.I.F. quarterfinals for the first time in eight years and placed second in league championships.

2014 CIF Southern Section Girls Soccer Playoff Brackets Division V

Yet the ultimate goal for the girls was not to just improve as individuals, but as a team. And they did just that, defeating St. Margaret’s for the first time since 2008 and scoring more than one goal against them for the first time in history.

 Assistant coach Megan Cid commented that the team “had a tough pre-season” but overall did remarkably well considering the number of young players. In total, there were 16 members on the team, only six of whom were upperclassmen. The team was “very deep, meaning that they ha[d] a lot of players to pull from the bench when needed and play multiple positions,” Cid remarked.

Sage Hill and La Canada line up at the end of the game and give each other high-fives. March 3 2014. Photographer: Rebecca Lynskey.
Sage Hill and La Canada line up at the end of the game and give each other high-fives. March 3 2014. Photographer: Rebecca Lynskey.
Junior Paige Burke watches her teammates from the sidelines. March 3 2014. Photographer: Rebecca Lynskey.
Junior Paige Burke watches her teammates from the sidelines. March 3 2014. Photographer: Rebecca Lynskey.

As the girls ended the season, they reflected on their accomplishments. “I think the season went phenomenally this year,” junior Paige Burke said.  Burke, who has been on the team for the past three years and scored a remarkable number of goals this season, notes that “everyone on the team dedicated their time and energy to the team, worked hard every practice and in every single game, and supported one another through the team’s ups and downs. I couldn’t ask for a better team.”

What makes the girls’ soccer team exceptional is just this—its ability to incorporate every single one of the players in some way, shape or form. They have become a team in every sense of the word.