Cleats dig into wet grass, anchoring the star players to earth as they streak through the green. Sweat beads on heated skin and a breeze whips through held back hair, as the girls aim towards the webbed netting at the end of the field. Swift kicks echo and cut through the air, as the ball whistles through the wind. The crowd holds their breath. Then the Suncoast girls soccer team celebrates yet another win.

“We’re very close, like a family. Everyone looks out for each other and cares about everyone,” says Allison Drew, a varsity player on the girls soccer team.

The girls soccer team has had wild success since the beginning of the year. This could be attributed to many different reasons, however, according to Annika Karbstein, a sophomore soccer player on the team, a main factor is communication and hard work. Due to their bonding on the field, the team has been able to trust each other more throughout the year, and this reflects on their games. Some of the bonding exercises include a cheer: “Chargers on three, chargers on three, chargers on three, one two three, chargers!” Aside from this, they often go to the mall together before games and carpool together.

“We have a lot of talent on our team and we work well together and are understanding,” said Karbstein.

However, every team has challenges. Making it to practices can be difficult, especially with the advanced workload at Suncoast. Some players suggest doing work early, or in the car, and avoiding procrastination. “It’s all about time management,” Drew commented. She suggests investing in some type of calendar or white board to better schedule your work. Another challenge the team faces is the loss of team members due to the graduation of seniors. The goal is to develop young players and make up for the lowered number of players.

“There’s a lot of communication, ball movement, and running. When there’s a goal scored or saved there’s a lot of support from the girls and coaches,” Drew recalled when describing the games.

At a typical game they get there an hour early, do their warm up, stretch, play passing drills and shooting drills. Then their coach gives them the line up, and they do their cheer before going to the field, as aforementioned. Then, when the game starts they usually set the ball down the line to get on their side of the field. They always attempt to score pretty early in the game to get momentum going; then at half time, if they have a good amount of goals, they’ll switch the starters out, letting everyone have the chance to play.

“I have to give my teammates a lot of credit for helping me score as much as I did. I think we really bonded well as a team this year,” exclaimed Guilianna Johnston

The team so far has been undefeated, however, they still have goals for the future of the team. Reaching districts, and winning, is the ultimate goal. Beating Bayside high school is also another challenge for them. Nevertheless, with all their evident hard work, it is obvious they will succeed.