Playing soccer isn’t just a game, it’s a passion. Scoring a goal isn’t just a point, it’s a success. The girls soccer program worked hard, bringing home both Bi-District and District championship beating Horizon and Hanks High School respectively. The team is 8-0 in district,15-6 overall.

“We started the season with a loss, but we saw a lot of potential,” varsity soccer coach Pedro Espinoza said. On their first non-conference game the girls were disappointed with their loss.

Playing on the soccer field isn’t as easy as it looks. The girls came back with their first non-conference victory, 3-1, against Canutillo High School, Jan. 17. After an equal win to lose ratio, the girls went undefeated during their district season.

“I would describe my girls as tough, aggressive, and demanding; I make them go beyond their beliefs by working them harder than they ever knew they could,” Espinoza said.

After winning their first conference game the girls gave everything they had and displayed spirit to win the second game Feb. 7, 5-0, against Ysleta High School.

“I was excited, because we were going to the second round and losing in the first round would have been devastating,” senior captain Katia Rocha said, “I was excited for what was coming next.”

The team is losing half the team to graduation including: Jislem Avila, Kimberely Jimenez, Miranda Leal, Stephanie Moreno, Katia Rocha, Alexis Saucedo, Monica Valadez, Amanda Villalobos, Veronica Yoshida, and Celia Zuniga.

The coach moved eight new members up from junior varsity to play varsity: Karen Benavidez, Valeria Carlos, Janeth Holguin, Ashley Maldonado, Carla Solis, Tiffany Solis, Monica Valadez, and Veronica Yoshida.

“I feel great that I moved up to varsity this year. It’s a privilege and an honor to be in varsity with such a great team,” junior Valeria Carlos said.

Moving up can be scary and playing with a new team is different and even hard.

“At fist I was a little scared, because it was going to be harder, but then I realized that I had to push myself and be confident within myself that I could do it and help my team win,” Carlos said.

The team finished off with a perfect district season, and had first seat going into playoffs winnng their first playoff match against Horizon High School, 3-1, becoming Bi-District champions. Their next opponent was Andress High School for the Area championship, the girls lost, 4-0.

“I expect my players to leave everything on that field. At the end of the season I expect the girls to walk away with a memorable experience,” Espinoza said.