Wilsonville girls soccer team makes history!
Girls soccer posing for a picture after a win. The team’s amazing season culminated in winning the State Championship.
Girls soccer made history this year, becoming the first group of girls to ever be state champions at Wilsonville high school!
This talented group of girls showed an incredible amount of determination since day one. During their pre-season games, they played in the higher 6A division. This included schools like West Linn, South Salem, and other experienced competitors. But they were still no match for the Wilsonville Wildcats, and went into the 5A season already having a lead with 8 wins and 1 tie.
The girls soccer team was on a roll, and it was just the beginning. They continued a winning streak quickly as they continued playing 5A schools in the Northwest Oregon Conference. The girls team won all 6 of those games, becoming league champions and continuing to the state playoffs.
The last stop for this driven team had finally come. The girls team was prepared to put up a fight against La Salle Prep, the number 2 placed team for both the Northwest Oregon Conference and in State. The game was one of the most intense soccer matches of the season, but the team stayed strong and pushed harder. After a hattrick from Lindsey Antonson, senior, and a beautiful goal from Dalton Mermis, senior, the Wildcats came out victorious, with the final score being 4-2.
With this wonderful outcome, many might wonder what these girls have gone through and learned together, as a team, to accomplish something so astounding. “Something that I think is important and key about our team is that we don’t play individually, trying to score individually or not work with your team,” Caroline DeLamotte, sophomore defender, explains. When asked about the team’s success. “We do a good job and play as a unit on and off the field, and I think this is because our team has such good chemistry and we know each other all so well and how each player plays so we are able to really work together quickly.”
Overall, the team ended their season successfully, and excitedly with a state champion title. Ending with 18 wins, 1 tie, and staying undefeated. Adding onto that, they also had 6 shutouts, 97 goals scored, and only 9 goals scored against.
This year, seniors contributed greatly to the varsity team, being the glue that connected everyone together. These past 4 years have been especially difficult for these 9 players, going through the ups and downs of the sport. In 2019, the girls soccer team played in the finals against Crescent Valley, but lost due to a false call during a shoot-out to determine the winner of the 0-0 game. Video spread of the last few minutes of the game, showing how a penalty made by Lindsey Antonson should have counted, if not for the referee’s call.That year, the team made a goal for themselves to get redemption and come out on top.
Though, none expected the worldwide pandemic that would rise the very next year. Though state playoffs had to be cancelled. Through all of this, the girls came out undefeated, making them 2020 league champions.
After the hardships and work put in, these girls deserve the win. Senior Dalton Mermis says, “We got the ending that this team has wanted since the program started. Not more than one person on that team wanted it more than the other, it’s a group effort and we all dug deep, trained, put the hours in outside of practices to get the championship, and it was a monumental moment I’ll never forget.” She goes on to add that, “The fact that I did it with the girls I have been playing soccer with since 2nd grade is something. It’s honestly crazy we’ve played together for that long.”
This championship win has been a long time in the making. Countless years of hard work, and extreme dedication from both the coaching department and team, helped bring this season to a close with a program history-making win that is well deserved, and well overdue.