Sitting on the bench, Varsity Girls Soccer Coach and History Instructor Kevin Shertzer cheered as junior Kelly Bickett kicked, who scored the team’s’ first goal in the first game against Dunn. Although the team lost this game 1-2, Shertzer commented on this game as a turning point: “We lost the game but I think the game showed us that you need passion, desire, and heart in order to succeed. It set up quite a battle in the second game, which we tied but when you play the same team again, it gives you a chance to measure how far you have come.”
The team started off the season with some non-league losses against Carpinteria High School (0-3) and Bishop Diego (0-4), as well as some wins against Santa Clarita Christian High School (2-1) and Coast Union (1-0). The Owls also won against one of their unofficial rivals, Cate School, 3-2. When asked about the importance of this game, junior Tiffany Yabsley said, “There has been some kind of long internal lust for domination over them. I think it’s just that it’s tradition that we want to beat them, and they play dirty. Also beating Cate proves to us how well we will do that season.”
The team, last year’s Condor League champions, began the league this year with a tie (1-1) against Midland, quickly followed by a loss against Dunn (1-2) and a win against Ojai Valley (12-0). They also won their second game against Midland (3-0) and tied their second game against Dunn (2-2).
Throughout the season, the team also fought through numerous injuries — junior sweeper Clare Ogle with a knee injury, junior forward Brooklyn Kinsler also with a knee injury, freshman goalie Natalie McCaffrey with a broken foot halfway through the season, and a number of other minor injuries. Nonetheless, Varsity Assistant Coach Megan Roarty said, “We have endured some injuries, some of them have been more brief, some are season ending, but even though the girls who were injured haven’t been able to play, their presences have been felt throughout the season. They’ve gone to practice, sat on the sidelines and cheered, and I know that it has meant a lot to the girls who were able to play and to the whole team.”
This year, the team was Co-League-Champions with Dunn School, and for the first time in Shertzer’s coaching, made it past the first round of CIF with a 5-1 win against Desert Christian. The season ended in a hard-fought game against Lennox Academy (1-1 until PK’s, where Lennox placed 2 goals to 0).
When asked how it felt to make it that far, freshman Audrey Murphy said, “ I feel honored to be part of such an amazing team. I look forward to every practice and every game because of how fun it is to play with such a great group of girls. I think why we’ve made it so far (to CIF) is because of not only Mr. Shertzer’s coaching but the eagerness to play as a team. I love being a part of it, especially as a freshman.”
When asked what she will miss most about this team, co-captain and only senior Grace MacNeil said, “The camaraderie. You know, my favorite part of all the four years of soccer was just being around a bunch of excited and motivated girls and going out there and having fun. If I have a tough day at school, I know I can always count on my teammates to cheer me up on the field. Mr. Shertzer and Ms. Roarty (and Mr. Chiment!) have been the best coaches we could have asked for — their passion and drive to see us succeed has pushed all of us to try our very best.”

JUNIOR VARSITY
On the junior varsity team, the girls have been practicing and improving daily. For freshman co-captain Sydney Hlavaty, one of the most memorable parts of the season was when the whole team played practice games against the Junior Girls Varsity Soccer Coach Davies Kabogoza.
Hlavaty said, “playing with Davies is kind of exhilarating actually because we get to go up against someone who has had years of practice, but truly does enjoy playing with us and tries his best to make it enjoyable.”
Though they lost all three of their games, from water fights to focused practices, the JV Owls bettered their skills throughout the season, and junior co-captain Isabelle Davenport said “Although we didn’t have many games, we still had a great season. Davies is an amazing coach, and we all improved a lot because of him. Overall, we had a great time, and I am sad to see it come to an end.”