By Nicole Banh | Staff Writer
On Feb. 6, the Gabrielino High School girls soccer team lost in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs against Redlands East Valley High School, 5-1. They ended their season third in the Mission Valley League with a league record of 5-5-2 and an overall record of 7-8-2, according to Maxpreps.
The Eagles fought fiercely against Redlands East Valley in the game played at Gabrielino.
“It obviously didn’t go the way we wanted it to go, but there’s not a lot you can do. We definitely played our hardest, and it’s good that we at least got one goal in,” stated captain Emilia Esseln, senior. “Anabel [Villaneuva, sophomore,] scored, so that was nice, it was a difficult game and they had a lot of fast players.”
The Eagles put one hundred percent of their best effort into the playoff game, despite the odds stacked against them.
“We unfortunately only got one day to practice for CIF, because the brackets were announced the Saturday before the game. We only got to practice that Friday and we practiced not knowing when we would play again,” sophomore Sofia Villagra explained, giving insight into the team’s performance during the game. “I felt really sad about the game, it was really hard to realize that was the last game with our seniors. I know we tried our best, but it is still upsetting. ”
Despite the loss, the team remains emboldened by their bonds and strong friendship with each other.
“It was hard because we ended up losing. But overall, I’m just really proud of the team, because we worked really hard to get there,” stated sophomore Liliana Simpson-Castaneda. “Even though we kind of had a slow start to the season, the team is really close we just fought all the way to the end and I’m really proud of us for that.”
The team’s CIF game came on the heels of a three game win streak to finish off the regular season. Shortly before the playoffs, the Eagle’s last league game took place at home against Mountain View High School on Feb. 2, with Gabrielino snatching a commanding win with a score of 3-0.
On Jan. 31, GHS went up against South El Monte High School with the Eagles winning 1-0. Once again, they prevented the opposing team from scoring a single goal.
