By: Reese Huerta and Sophia Rexhepi
Women’s varsity members discuss their two most recent games against Garces and Tulare Western and go over what they look forward to this upcoming season
On Tuesday, December 5, women’s varsity soccer won their away game 3 -1 against Tulare Western. This is the first win of the season and the girls are excited for what’s to come.
Mia Larsen, ’26, is a first year varsity member and backup goal keeper for the Rangers. She says she felt very encouraged by how hard her and her team played during this game.
Larsen says “I thought it went good, I think we connected well and we just worked well as a team.”
Larsen’s favorite memory from the game against Tulare Western is when Roxy Bahr ’24, made the first goal of the season.
“ Roxy’s first goal was exciting because it was the first goal this season and we were all really happy for her. Also when Mac blocked the PK, we were all happy about that,” she says.
Larsen says she looks forward for the upcoming season and feels confident in her team. “I am excited because we started off with a win, so it’s setting the tone for the rest of the season and we’re gonna hopefully keep winning and keep playing well,” says Larsen.
Alexsandra Ortiz, ’25, midfielder, was apart of the starting lineup for XL against Tulare Western. Ortiz says her favorite moment during the game was “our first goal because we hadn’t played in a while and it was very memorable.”
To improve as a team, Ortiz says she wants to focus on “working together and cherishing the moments we have together because a lot of our seniors are leaving next year.”
Ortiz says, “Even before the game, I was very excited because I am excited to get the high school season started and hopefully we go far and we win. I am excited to see how far we go and I’m excited to be with my seniors for the last year because I’m gonna miss playing with them.”
Graycie Serpa, ’26, plays forward postion and this is her first year on varsity. Scoring one of the three goals Serpas favorite moments is when she scored the third goal during the game. She says making the goal was “it was really fun and all the girls were really excited.”
Serpa highlights how her team is very supportive, saying, “All the girls are really hyped and they support you a lot.”
Their team also played against Garces the following day where they lost 2-0. Despite this loss, the girls used this as motivation for what they need to work on.
Mckenzie Velasquez, ’25, goalkeeper, made four saves during the game against Garces. Velasquez says, “It was a good game, very difficult. It was a loss but we all came together as a team.”
Velasquez favorite moment of the game was halftime. Velasquez says, “My favorite moment would have to be halftime because we came together as a team and talked about how we can win and our coaches were hyping us up. It was good to just see everyone communicating.”
When reflecting on the game, Velasquez says she needs to work on communicating with her team, “I wanna improve on my communication skills with my teammates and try to help them because I can see the whole field and they can’t. In order to be successful I tell myself to go for it. To not doubt myself and go off my instincts.”
The future for these Rangers is bright as they reflect on what they need to work on and what they are excited to achieve. These girls will continue on their journey as they have a tournament this weekend in Paso Robles.
Sophia Rexhepi
Sophia' 24 is a writer for the Gigantea's sport section. She enjoys interviewing students and staff who break social norms. She loves writing and can't wait to interview the lovely students and staff at Redwood.
Reese Huerta
Tags: girls varsity soccer, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, redwood sports, reese huerta, rhs, Sophia Rexhepi, sports, womens soccer