The Niles West varsity girls soccer team played in their second game this season against Marine Leadership Academy on March 15.  The team won 3-0 in this game and scored two of the points in under 40 mins. 

This game was an opportunity for the team to work on their new dynamics. 

“It’s still very early on in the season, I think in the future, like once we get our groove, we have a pretty good team.  I think we have a lot of aware players, we have good movement on the field, and I’ve been seeing a lot of strength in them. We’re also playing a 4-3-3 this year, so it’s a little different than last year because we’re kind of working on that formation and this game will be a chance to test it out,”  senior and varsity soccer player Nora Graham said. 

The team has prepared for this game by watching their old games, where they talked about each play and how they could improve on it. The team was also focused on cleaning up their skills and staying more compact in the back of their formations. 

The game also highlighted the team’s strengths and strategies.

“Our strategy for the game is to go into the game with an open mind. We didn’t know much about this other team, so we were hoping to start off strong and get a few goals early with the hope that we could get some good momentum. Going into this, our strengths are that we are able to outwork other teams. Our effort and determination to win will help us to excel throughout many game situations. My personal goals are to organize the team and help on the offensive as well as the defensive end,”  sophomore Linnea Applequist said. 

Graham expresses her personal goals for not only this game but for the rest of the season. 

“For my personal goals, I just want to do my part to help the team, like limit mistakes, learn from any mistakes and fix them- basically just be the best player  for my team in whatever position they need me at,” Graham said. 

Head Coach Arturo Villamil believes that the key to the team’s success was in their strategy. 

“The proudest I was of the team this game is the back line was very secure, confident and organized. The back line and goalkeeper can see everything in front of them. If we are organized from the back to top, our team will be very secure on defense allowing fewer goals and giving us an opportunity to build our offense from the back. If we continue to communicate, possess the ball, and play strong in the back we will continue to have success,” Villamil said. 

 The girls play their next game at home against the Maine South Hawks on April 2, come out and show the Wolves your support!