![“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)
![“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)
![“[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)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasn't making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable," Carter Chadwick ('22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
“Go! Fight! Win!” cheered the enthusiastic crowd of soccer fans on Davis Field. On Wednesday, November 28, the Varsity girls soccer team played its first official game of the season, losing 2-1 to Redwood Christian Jr-Sr High School.
Through the first half, both teams held their ground fighting offensively and the defensively to keep the game tied at 0-0. In the second half, Redwood Christian scored the first two goals of the game, but Nikita Parulkar (10) quickly answered with a goal of her own. The game ended with a final score of 2-1, a defeat for the lady Eagles.
Despite the team’s loss against Redwood Christian, Head Coach Jason Berry was proud of the team’s improvement since its last scrimmage and is optimistic about fixing the weak points in future practices.
“Communication [and] movement off the ball was a bit better; and play from the wings was quite good. We could have finished much better, but that’s what these early games will help point out to me and Coach Ransome,” Berry said in an email interview.
A number of middle school faculty as well as fourth through eighth grade soccer teams attended the game to show support for the Varsity players.
“[This game] was a great event for [the middle school athletes] to be able to support the [Varsity] team on their first home game and to be able to have our young players look forward to getting to see the opportunities if they play for the high school team,” middle school physical educator Chrissy Chang said.
Encouraged by the middle school students’ cheers, the Varsity team was motivated to play more aggressively and set a good example for the younger athletes.
“[They] made me want to play harder so they [can] have [role models] to look up to [when] they get to high school,” Kianna Bisla (11) said.
The Lady Eagles will continue their positive spirit for the next game, which will take place on December 4 against Pacific Collegiate School.