Coming from last place in the Peninsula Athletic League last season, the Aragon girls soccer team (4-2-2 PAL, 9-4-3 overall) is tied with Menlo-Atherton (4-2-2 PAL, 6-8-3 overall) and Burlingame (4-2-2 PAL, 12-2-4 overall) for the top spot in the Bay Division of the PAL. With their current record and standings, they have a strong chance of qualifying for the Central Coast Section playoffs.
“We have to finish in the top three [to qualify]. We’re currently sitting at one … we just got to make sure that we show up every game ready to play. And if we can get the results that we need, then come the end of those games, we will qualify for CCS,” said head coach Michael Flynn.
The Dons are looking to improve from their 2017-18 season, where they finished 2-9-4 in PAL and 4-10-6 overall.
“We didn’t have a great season last year … but this year I feel like we’re doing a lot better,” said senior midfielder Jayla Stokesberry. “I think we’re clicking better as a team; we have more chemistry. It’s easier for us to score goals, and overall we’re playing better.”
In their preseason scrimmage against Hillsdale who is in the Ocean Division, the Dons lost 2-0.
“We didn’t win which was kind of a blow to our confidence because they’re a league below us and they’re our rivals so we expected that to be, not an easy win, but we definitely knew we should have won that game,” said senior right defender Grace Simenc.
“I think we’re clicking better as a team, we have more chemistry. It’s easier for us to score goals and overall we’re playing better”
But Simenc also feels that the game gave both her and the team a change in mindset and confidence.
“That game showed us what we needed to work on. And we definitely translated that into what we [practiced] and it helped us come back a lot stronger for the season,” Simenc said.
The team’s daily practice routine consists of a mile run for warm ups and then a dynamic warm up where they exercise and stretch. But during the continuous rainy days, the team had been practicing indoors and watching game film to figure out what they could improve on and take away from past games.
“[Watching film] was beneficial because I know for me … to visualize through the videos [and] to see what mistakes I made and what I can improve on is nice,” senior defender Dianna Higaki said.
The players were able to improve aspects of their game during their matches from the insight of their film review.
“It gave us a chance to watch a few of our old games, which that was really useful for the Terra Nova game because there are some things that we covered while watching film that translated directly into how we play,” Simenc said.
Flynn believes that team bonding played a key role in their success this season.
“It just seems like this year is different. They just seem closer. The freshmen really feel like they’re part of the team,” Flynn said. “Instead of having the separation between the freshmen and seniors, I think our seniors really put their arms out and welcomed the younger players, [and] that made them feel very welcomed, and [it] just made us very close.”
“Every time someone goes down with an injury or illness, the next person on the bench is ready to step up and fill their spot”
Due to injuries and sickness, the team’s substitutes were essential in helping the Dons win games.
“Every time someone goes down with an injury or illness, the next person on the bench is ready to step up and fill their spot, and we don’t seem to lose a beat,” Flynn said. “So the girls have been really mentally and physically prepared to play when they get the opportunities.”
Many players have confidence in their team so far and have high expectations for their postseason.
“I think we have one of the strongest teams we’ve had probably in my four years at Aragon,” Higaki said. “It would be nice to go out strong, and I definitely think that with this team we can.”
The team currently holds the top spot in the Bay Division of the Peninsula Athletic League. They tied against both Woodside (4-3-2 PAL, 8-7-3 overall) on Jan. 29 and Menlo-Atherton on Jan. 31 and lost 2-0 against Burlingame on their senior night on Feb. 5. The Dons are set to face off against Terra Nova (1-3-3 PAL, 4-4-7 overall) on Feb. 7.
Additional reporting by Brooke Hanshaw
