By Kevin Pham
Staff Writer
On Feb. 20, the Gabrielino High School varsity girls soccer team squared off against Jurupa Hills High School in the second round of the CIF championships.
“I was definitely excited,” junior Olivia Koyama stated before the game, “but I was also very worried about the cold weather.”
Lead by senior co-captains Alina Zarate and Ciannah Correra, the lady Eagles were optimistic going into their second game.
“[We try to] leave everything out on the field,” stated Zarate. “[We] play like every game is [our] last game because it could be.”
The girls did just that. Pushing the match into its second overtime, the GHS girls varsity team fought until the very last moment.
“You win some, you lose some.” coach Rafa Moran told the girls, after their match.
Unfortunately, after a valiant effort by the GHS girls varsity eagles, they lost to JHHS 2-1.
“Yes, we lost and it sucks,” Correra stated. “We weren’t discouraged by it though. [We] still won league [and] we still made it this far into the CIF playoffs.”
In the game 5 days before on Feb. 15, the girls celebrated their first CIF game win against Lompoc in the Eagles Stadium.
During the first half of their game, the girls were down 0-1.
“We weren’t sure that we were going to win, but, I felt confident,” stated Koyama.
That confidence allowed them to make a comeback during the second half of the game. They didn’t let the score discourage their spirits.
“When Ciannah, #7, scored the first goal of the match, it was amazing,” recalled junior Olivia Gonzalez. “It gave us the confidence to bring it home.”
With their renewed confidence, the girls assured their first win to their CIF playoffs season with the final score being 2-1.
On Feb. 6, the GHS varsity girls soccer team played against El Monte High School, winning their game 2-1.
Following the win against El Monte two days before, the Eagles won again against Mountain View High School 2-1. That win afforded the girls first in the league for this conference season, earning them automatic qualifications for CIF.
The GHS varsity girl soccer team played a fruitful season, only losing one game and tieing another, both against Arroyo. By winning almost every league game and maintaining their self-confidence all the way to CIF, they ended their season with a bang.
“We had a lot of new players; not a lot of retuners. So, this was a very successful rebuilding year.” said Correra.
