With winter sports nearing an end, the girls soccer team is looking to finish the season strong.

The San Pasqual High School girls soccer varsity team captains, senior Emilee Ketring and junior Fatima Valle, look back on the season and recap some memorable moments.

“We started off rough, but after we got a new coach, we all really came together, and it’s gotten a lot better and we’re starting to look pretty good,” Ketring said.

This is Ketring’s fourth year on the varsity team and Valle’s first year. As the team captains, it can get a little stressful at times, and it’s common to feel some pressure when stepping into a leadership rule, but they find a way to make it work.

“I think the pressure mostly comes from trying to keep the girls happy and trying to make sure we’re playing our best,” Valle said. “But mostly it’s just fun.”

The varsity team is full of dedicated and hardworking athletes, and both Ketring and Valle can agree that Abby Pharies is one of those athletes.

“I can’t really just name one person because a lot of the girls on the team actually do work really hard, but I think Abby Pharies is one because that girl can run and she just works so hard every game,” Valle said.

“Probably Abby Pharies, she’s really good and I think she’s one of the best ones on the team,” Ketring said.

At the beginning of the season, the girls on the varsity team had a little trouble connecting at first, but soon enough, it all felt like one big family.

“In the beginning, there was a little bit of drama with a few girls, but we worked through it and now we’re all really close,” Ketring said.

Before a game, it can get a little nerve-wracking or sometimes, you just need a little motivation to get hyped up and excited about it but you have a lot more fun when you prepare for a game with your teammates.

“We like to drive up together, not on the bus, but just in our cars, and that really pumps us up because we just listen to music,” Ketring said.

Even when the team is trying their hardest on the field, sometimes they don’t win and winning isn’t everything, and sometimes that’s not always the goal; it can also be about improving in one’s skills and ability and having good sportsmanship.

“Our toughest opponent was probably Del Norte High School because they’re a really good team and we didn’t win but it was such a close game, it was 3-2, and that was our first game so it was really cool to have been that close to winning,” Valle said.