The girls varsity soccer players have proven that those who work hard tend to get the results they want, as they have worked hard to rise to the top of the North Shore Conference.

The girls hope to continue to prove their hard work has paid off as they compete in the two-day Gusho Tournament this Friday and Saturday at Brookfield East High School. So far, the girls have had a promising season and only plan to improve from there.

According to Grace Looker, freshman, the goals for the season are high for this team, including qualifying for the state tournament. As for the tournament this weekend, the team hopes to compete well with the tough competition.

On Tuesday, the team faced its hardest competition of the year against the Cedarburg Bulldogs and came out on top with a score of 1-0. Throughout the game, the defense of both teams was greater than the offense. Coco Weincek, junior, scored the team’s only goal in the last seconds of the game to send the Bulldogs home with a loss.

“Cedarburg has a very strong defense that is hard to penetrate but we managed to break them down,” Lauren Padgett, junior, said. “Their offense lacks the firepower necessary to score and our back line was able to shut them down quickly.”

This win will serve as a confidence booster for the team going into the tournament. Chemistry on the field can also be credited to the team’s chemistry off the field. Although, according to Weincek, teams in the past have been very close, this team seems to be even closer. “This year we’re especially close. We have a few new freshman that we have incorporated into the team and we’ve become really close friends,” Weincek said.

With five freshman playing on varsity, the team is young but talented. “Being a freshman on varsity, its fun from the team aspect because you make older friends that on and off the field are people to look up to,” Looker said.  The freshmen bring a new energy to the playing field and provide for a promising future.

The team has placed its trust in freshmen, putting Hannah Malicky, freshman, in the goal. “It’s nerve racking, especially since Kelli (Ausman, previous goalie who is out with a torn ACL) was there and she’s really good, but it’s also an honor since not many people get to be on varsity as a freshman. It’s definitely intense,” Malicky said.

Practice this week will focus on making good first touches and following through with the girl’s shots on goal. The team has struggled on one-on-one defense in previous games, and according to Coach Tony Navarre, assistant girls soccer coach, the girls will try to work on improving their defensive game in the tournament this weekend.

Although the competition will be tough, the resilience and chemistry of the team will help it be successful in the Gusho tournament.

“We work well together both on and off the field which really helps us to be successful, especially in our tournaments,” Padgett said. “Our team is like a family, and I know that sounds cheesy, but in all my years of playing Homestead soccer I have never been on a closer team.”

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Carly Rubin

Allie Haddad and Jordan Ellerbrock, juniors, work around the defense in a victory against Cedarburg.