On Thursday, Oct. 7 the Issaquah High Junior Varsity Women’s Soccer team rounded

their victory count to eight. With the winning goal made in the first ten minutes of the game,

Issaquah beat Skyline 0-1.

With purple cladded parents and the varsity women’s soccer team to support them, the JV

team had a strong start. Around the half hour mark of the first half, Issaquah scored a goal

against Skyline that would help to secure their win. With a strong defense and sophomore

goalkeeper Ava Bruns, Issaquah was able to deflect all of Skyline’s passes.

With an honorable defense, Skyline players were quick to block Issaquah’s offense, but in

the end they could not pull their own offense together to score a goal. Sophomore Rani Leupold

was a strong asset for Issaquah. She made several long passes to her teammates, though many

were regularly intercepted by Skyline’s aggressive defense. Junior and forward Sophia Hirao

also proved valuable to the team today, with several strong passes and plays, her aggressive

attitude on the field visibly encouraged her teammates. Following yet another strong pass by

sophomore Rani Leupold, half time began.

In pursuit of a final point, sophomore Robin Lull collided with a Skyline player on the

field. After a brief pause in the game and a quick recovery, Lull gave one last shot only for it to

be intercepted by Skyline once again. In the last minutes of the game, sophomore Olivia Erskine

made a near goal for Issaquah, but ultimately the point would not make it to the scoreboard.

Coach Nicole Jansen states, “I have been so proud of the girls and their winning season.”

With three more games to come, it is important to the players that they carry their winning streak

through the whole season. When asked about what the future holds, sophomore Riley Marinos

states, “Our players have been very valuable to each other, we work together to form a good

defense and offense, which will continue to help us win.” This collaboration is obvious to those

on the field and in the stands, as Marinos, Leupold, and sophomore Remy Eng, fought to score

another point in the second half, making confident passes to one another, and moving towards

their goal ready to assist their teammates. Sophomore Maysa Lacasse states, “Our team has

really come together during this season. Even our newest players are adding to the team spirit.”

This is shown through Issaquah junior varsity’s youngest player, freshman Olivia Bruns, as she

perfectly lined up another goal in the beginning of the second half, only to be blocked by

Skyline’s defense.

With a new and unusual school year giving way to the return of fall sports, it is

abundantly clear how well the players have adjusted. They were quick to support each other on

and off the field, and with ease in collaboration, their victory count can only increase throughout

the season.