Girls Soccer Kicks in to the 2023 Season

Spring is here, and as the flowers bloom and Chicago’s chilly weather is slowly warming up, girls varsity soccer is kicking off the 2023 season. After an 8-0 victory against Regina Dominican High School for their first game, the team is optimistic for the start of this new season.

Sophomore Mary Sarkis shares her thoughts on this season and what the team is doing to prepare.

“We are practicing every day and getting better individually and as a whole. Our goals as a team are building our team chemistry more and more. We also want to minimize injuries. We always focus on communication and the upperclassmen are always helping the underclassmen. We [have been] preparing for the season by having team bonding activities after practice and always being there for one another,” Sarkis said.

Coach Bill Papaioannou has high expectations for the girls this spring and elaborates on the advantages the team has that will get them to be successful.

“I am most looking forward to seeing how we develop chemistry as a team on the field, and how much we improve, both individually and collectively, as the season progresses. Team goals for the season include being competitive in every conference game, winning most of our non-conference games, earning a top-8 seed in the state playoffs, and making it to the regional finals. The preparation began long ago, with almost all of our players either playing club soccer in the offseason or participating in another sport here at school, and continuing in the preseason with conditioning, skill work, tactical, and formational sessions so that we could be ready for the season.”

“I am very excited about the potential this group has, and feel that we can really put teams on notice that we are not a team to be taken lightly. The energy the girls bring every day to the pitch is awesome, and we are fortunate to have wonderful seniors who have been playing at a high level with us for years to lead the way,” Papaioannou said.

For senior Mila Albazi, playing soccer for West means a lot to her, especially now as it’s her last year. What she is looking forward to is the most important game of the season, the rivalry game against Niles North.

“I’m sad that it’s my last year playing, but I’m excited about this season because we have a very strong team. I’m looking forward to the [Niles] North game and our senior night game the most,” Albazi said.

Good luck to the girls this season. With the hard work and dedication put into their practices and games, there’s no doubt that they won’t be successful.