The soccer held at Laguna Blanca is never short of intensity, sweat or winning, as soccer is arguably one of the strongest and most played team sports in the school.

Although the regular season has not started yet due to the delay caused by the Thomas Fire, the girls soccer team is expecting a fruitful season.

With only one senior having graduated last year, this year’s team is senior-dominated.

The current seniors on the team, having been together since freshman year, pose a serious threat to their opponents.

“There are 12 seniors on the team, and they all became more experienced from last year, which makes us really excited for the upcoming regular season,” Head Coach Kevin Shertzer said.

The girls had a good start during pre-season, when they beat Bishop Diego High School 3-2.With Bishop located in Santa Barbara, both teams have had back- and-forth contests for many years.

“I would say we are two pretty close teams. Some years they were better and some years we were,” said Shertzer.

On the opening game against Bishop Diego,“It was like an experiment game where I tried to test out certain new formations, lineups, and plays,” said Shertzer.

“During pre-season when winning is not all that matters, I care more about effort. I would rather lose by ten but give all we got than win by ten but be lazy on the eld. Of course, when we get into regular season, I would do anything to win.”

Kayla Stern, a player on the Bishop soccer team, shadowed at Laguna recently and had a chance to express her opinions on the girls soccer team.

She praised the skillfulness and team- work that Laguna players showed during a recent game, and also pointed out their aws:“Their communication and passing are brilliant, which I think are the reasons why we lost. But I feel like what they have to work on is spreading out more, instead of stacking the mid eld.”

Although the season has not been long enough to produce many defining moments, Shertzer already decided on a highlight for the team:“It was the game against Mission Prep. Seniors Kelly Bickett and Tiffany Yabsley scored two beautiful goals, but we eventually fell short 2-3.
We could have beaten them though.They were Division 4, and we are in Division 7.”

Shertzer envisions an exciting season: “Besides skills and experience, I think
the team has gotten more cohesive. Even though we have so many spectacular seniors and some girls who tried soccer for this first time, you don’t see hierarchy and separation of non-starters from starters. They really support each other a lot, regardless of skill level.”