The hustle and heart of the girl’s soccer team radiates. But, with such success, they must have some type of strategy to bring in so many wins over the years. Senior Nicole Cardello has fulfilled her spot on the team as a defensive player. Cardello admits that half of the team’s time together is spent preparing for the oncoming season.

Cardello says, “Actually, this year we started really early and we met up and [made] weekly goals, exercises to do and then we would meet every so often to do a power hour. A Power hour is basically when we dedicated our [time] and we try our hardest [to] pass accurately.”

Though she hasn’t always played soccer, Cardello has learned some things from her eight years of defending the incoming teams. It is hard to get into a new sport.

If Cardello could advise new players that were in her position, she would say, “Keep pushing yourself no matter what. Even if you have that fear of just wanting to puke your guts out.”

Cardello shares these hard-working qualities with her team. The girls all work very hard through the preseason. One thing the girls enjoy to do after practice is to connect over different activities. Cardello mentions that the team “Typically hangs out for a bit so we can go to the mystery mayhem which is really cool.”

Other activities the girls all love to do is have sleepovers after the preseason is over or head over to eateries in town. One thing is for sure: the girls all share these winning characteristics.

“Each girl has a great work ethic,” said Cardello. The girls seem to find their teamwork within activities like the Mystery Mayhem Escape Room.

One of the newer girls on the team is freshman Mary Fritz. Similar to Cardello, she is also a defensive player.

The soccer team is a good way to get used to high school. Fritz believes that joining is a great idea for a future freshman. She says, “It’s a really nice team. It’s really great when you get to know people and then seeing them at school. It’s nice to see a familiar face in the crowd.”

Bonding helps the girls to all have the same mindset. Some words anyone could use to describe this group are connected, kindhearted and diligent. They all work well on and off the field together. The smaller interactions each girl has with one another seems to fuel their passion for bringing in the wins. It is most likely comforting to know that someone will have your back when entering a new school. We all know that beginning high school is an intimidating step in life. The girls soccer team all work very hard to keep a tight bond on and off the  field.