On Oct. 25, JV girls’ soccer joined varsity in an overwhelming victory against Mount Si. With a score of 5-0, IHS’ strong offense and communicative defense kept the game on IHS’s side and goals were shared by a variety of girls on the team.

Starting the game with a group cheer, IHS took the rainy weather and harsh winds in

stride and secured their first goal. Freshman Sophie Penton, with the help of sophomore Katy Doyle, juggled the ball between foes across the field and rocketed the ball above the goalie’s fingertips for a goal. As the game progressed, the JV team collaborated intensely as a powerful kick by Penton allowed the ball to be passed to sophomore Eleri Parry for a near miss from the goal. Freshman Stella Handlin scored the next goal of the night with a penalty kick that contained the height and power needed to evade the goalkeeper. The last goal before halftime was towards the end of the first half after a heavy back and forth from both sides and a strong defense from IHS. Sophomore Carmen Loney outraced her competitors with grace as she ran across the field with the ball for a third goal. As rain began to pour and temperatures dropped, IHS kept their resolve for the second half of the game and sophomore Kaitlin Pelly cleanly propelled the ball nearly 40 yards into the goal. Ending the night with a fifth goal, junior Remy Eng delivered the ball into the goal to end the night.

Going into the game with a great attitude, Coach Charles Glenn describes his strategy for the night as “to just pass and have fun and move the ball”. Despite the cold, the girls seemed elated by their victory and accomplishments in the game. Glenn also cites that during halftime he coached the team towards “working on our communication, our passing, controlling the ball,” something which showed in IHS’s positional domination on the field. While Mount Si sometimes struggled to connect passes, IHS always kicked with a player in mind. This led to the game staying closer towards Mount Si’s goal. Junior Katie Bendt said an impressive player to her was Eng as she “had a center-back score today which does not really happen that often.” Freshman Catherine Kovats showed her admiration for players “Riley Cleveland [who] did really good this game and Kaitlin Pelly.” It is clear as players acknowledge others for their accomplishments that within the JV girls’ soccer team is a mutual sense of admiration and respect for each other.

Returning to the field after the unfortunate smoke cancellations, JV soccer proved Tuesday night that nothing can set them back. With numerous stand-out players, it will be great to watch these athletes dominate King County girls’ soccer in the years yet to come.