This year’s girls varsity soccer team finished strong in the playoffs, defeating Oakland Mills and Hammond, while losing against River Hill in the third round of playoffs.

The team had many new young girls who hadn’t played at the high school level yet.

The captains knew it was a year to rebuild the team. Jenna Hutchinson, the team’s goalkeeper felt that the team was successful. “We really achieved building this team up,” said Hutchinson.

Captains Sahar Zoghi and Anna DiBattista both really felt that everyone stepped up, especially the inexperienced players.

Throughout the season there were many underclassmen players that stepped up, according to the captains. By the end of the season, freshmen Autumn Wright, Nicole Wright, Nicola Arnovits, Angie Geralis, and Kaitlyn Vong were all on the starting line. There were also three sophomores who made all-county: Jenna Hutchinson, Lily Dunbar, and Julianna Bonner.

The captains knew this season wasn’t going to be the same as last year’s, but at the end of the season they were happy with the result. “Going into the season I thought it’d be rough, but I was really surprised,” said Zoghi.

The team made it to the semifinal round of playoffs, but lost to River Hill 0-1. Although they lost more games than they won, many of the games were close calls, according to Hutchinson.

The team believes they have set a great momentum for the soccer program at Wilde Lake. Hutchinson sees talent in the new players have and is confident for next year. “I believe we can go to states next year,” said Hutchinson. Zoghi also believes that the team “is going in the right direction.”