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![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Varsity girls soccer suffers first loss of season on senior night
Goalie Amla Rashingkar (12) laughs during the halftime ceremony. “The seniors are also sweet and supportive and really fun to hang out with at practice, and I’m sad that they are leaving the team. We’ve all improved so much from the beginning of the season, so it’s important to me that I got a chance to celebrate the seniors and formally say goodbye to them,” Kara said.
February 8, 2020
The varsity girls soccer fell 1-0 against Crystal Springs for their first loss of the season on senior night on Tuesday, bringing their overall record to 12-1-3.
Both teams initially struggled to score, with the score tied at 0-0 heading into halftime.
During halftime, four seniors were honored: goalie Amla Rashingkar, team manager Allie Lee, and players Arushi Netty and Larissa Tyagi. The team created cut-out posters of the senior girls’ faces, gifting them one by one to the seniors along with colorful flower bouquets and fleece blankets.
Sarah Baicher (11), described the senior night as both a remembrance of the seniors’ dedication, as well as a “celebration” of their “commitment” and “impact” to the team.
“It’s just really important to let them know how much we value them,” Sarah said. “I loved being able to give them flowers and posters that we made ourselves, with all their friends and family surrounding them and supporting and cheering for them because they really deserve it.”
Allie, first to receive the senior gifts, recalls her four years on the girls’ soccer team. Although she no longer plays this season, Allie still found ways to stay connected to the soccer team by becoming the team manager.
“It makes me really really happy and nostalgic because it’s the end of four years playing soccer with my team,” Allie said. “This night means a lot because the team has done so much for me, and they have always encouraged me throughout my entire high school career. I’m gonna miss them a lot, so it’s a really bittersweet moment.
For freshman Kara Kister (9), attending her first senior night with the team was both momentous and rewarding.
“The seniors are also sweet and supportive and really fun to hang out with at practice, and I’m sad that they are leaving the team. We’ve all improved so much from the beginning of the season, so it’s important to me that I got a chance to celebrate the seniors formally say goodbye to them,” Kara said.
After the girls handed out their handmade presents, head coach Iman Siadat presented a short speech, noting the dedication the seniors have put in throughout the year and encouraging the team to pull through in the second half.
Despite the loss, the girls rebounded later in the week to win an 8-0 blowout at Mercy San Francisco, bringing their record to 13-1-3 and WBAL Skyline league record to 10-1-1, securing the league championship for the first time since 2014.
The Eagles will next host the Central Coast Section (CCS) qualifying match on Feb. 19 at 3:30 on Davis Field, hoping to secure an automatic berth to the CCS playoffs.
