On Monday, Oct. 17, Issaquah’s Purple C-Team secured their final 1-0 win against Skyline marking the end of their season with a victory. The Eagles started off the first half strong by gaining possession of the ball. Solid teamwork and collaboration between players proved advantageous when freshman Jaya Sathi pulled a long shot followed right behind by freshman Grace Hill who was by the goal to kick it in—scoring the one and only winning goal of the game. Standout players from the game include the team’s goalie who showed immense skill, making saves against most of Skyline’s shots. Other notable players include Hill, freshman Natalie Burch, and freshman Katie Dillion.

The second half proved intense when Skyline took possession of the ball. Throughout the game, the Eagles showed equal defense against Skyline, keeping them on their toes through each interception made by their opposers. The Eagles took every open opportunity to score, although proving unsuccessful, they managed to keep Skyline away from their net successfully.

There were times when the Eagles seemed to have lost their defense and cohesive teamwork missing passes but they managed to pull through, pushing through with defense and interceptions.

Emotions ran high during the game as more than one injury took place, with an Eagle and Skyline player taking a ball to the face, and another Eagle stepping out sick. Freshman Ava Miller also took a leg injury and sat out for the rest of the game. It was clear that the Eagles would not go down without playing their best game, as evidenced by the spirited encouragement between team members and family in the stands. Overall, Issaquah’s teamwork, defense, communication and determination paid off proving to be the key factors in Issaquah’s victory over Skyline.

Coach Tyler Bennett could not agree more, stating, “Grit and determination I believe were the main factors. We had a lot on the line for this game and we wanted to win so we came together as a family and used a lot of our communication skills and a lot of working off of each other. Really everything just came down to Grit because this was a tough game.” He continued to say that he believed his players came together as a team well and the curveballs they threw into the mix played out, and overall everyone coming together. Sathi also expressed how she felt about the game, saying, “I felt nervous in the beginning since it was against Skyline and they are a hard team but as soon as we scored our team confidence grew throughout the game.” Sophomore Jamima Tamblyn also adds, “The whole season we have been working on playing small ball and playing possession rather than long balls over the top, so we have definitely improved on that since the beginning of the season.”

Congratulations to C-Team Purple on their final game and amazing win and season! Although the C-team season has ended, make sure to check out the IHS girls’ soccer Instagram and IHS soccer website for varsity and JV’s remaining games. Go Eagles!