![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[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 crushed Jefferson High School 13-0 on Davis Field on Tuesday.
Immediately after kickoff, midfielders MacEnzie Blue (12) and Eva Cheng (12) created chances with crosses deep into the Jefferson box, but none resulted in a goal. Midfielder Kaitlyn Nelson (11) then fired a long-range shot from 30 yards to score the Eagles’ first goal of the game. The Eagles continued to put pressure on the Grizzlies’ defense, earning a corner kick. Forward Aanya Sharma (11) finished with a tap-in off Kaitlyn’s cross seven minutes into the game, extending Harker’s lead to 2-0.
Following a missed free kick, Harker quickly regained possession and worked the ball back into Jefferson’s half through passing by Eva and outside back Cynthia Xie (11). Two minutes later, forward Emma Wang (10) capitalized on the strong ball movement to extend Harker’s lead to 3-0. The Eagles struck again when MacEnzie intercepted a pass and dribbled through three defenders to slot the ball in the back of the net to make the score 4-0.
Head coach Taylor Ortiz emphasized that she was proud of the team for staying focused on their play regardless of the circumstances.
“The girls played really well,” Ortiz said. “It’s unfortunate when the teams we face can’t field a full team. But we still played really well, communicated, moved up the field as a unit, and we were able to put away goals, which is one of our struggles.”
The Eagles’ midfield continued to control possession, with Eva making connecting passes to keep play on the Grizzlies’ side of the field. The sustained pressure paid off when Eva added another goal to give the Eagles a 5-0 advantage. Shortly after, Kaitlyn scored another long shot, extending Harker’s lead to 6-0.
With 18 minutes left in the half, winger Srishti Dhawan (11) converted a chance for Harker. The Eagles continued to break through the Grizzlie’s defense, as center back Audrey Yang (12) and Cynthia racked up attempts on the Grizzlie’s goal, concluding the half up 7-0.
Harker continued their attacking dominance into the second half, keeping the ball on the Jefferson side throughout the opening 5 minutes. Audrey stole the ball and fired a shot from the edge of the box at the 51st minute to increase the Eagles’ lead to 8-0. A deflection off Kaitlyn’s pass led to an own goal by a Jefferson center back three minutes later.
“We were able to use it as an experience to practice,” winger Emma Wang (10) said. “And we were able to get a bunch of people who would normally not score, because they’re defenders, to score. It was a really good team experience.”
Defender Madeline Pham (9) made key steals in midfield and moved the ball upfield towards the Jefferson goal. With 24 minutes left in the game, Audrey scored her second goal of the half, bringing the score to 10-0.
Halfway through the second half, Eva forced a turnover at the top of the box and finished the shot to put Harker ahead 11-0. A steal by Sophie set up another scoring opportunity for Audrey, who made a long-range shot to extend the lead to 12-0. In the closing minutes of the match, Aanya scored the final goal, sealing a 13-0 victory for the Eagles. She described the play as one of her most memorable shots of the season.
“Audrey passed me the ball, and I looked up and shot from past the 20-yard line,” Aanya said. “It went right into the top corner. It was a really rare shot, but what made it special was having my friends around me. Everyone was so supportive.”
The team currently holds a record of 5-3 and will next play Pinewood School tomorrow.
