The Prairie varsity girls’ soccer team played the Evergreen Plainsmen at Prairie High School. Ending with a score of 7-0, the Falcons won with a great closure to the soccer season, demonstrating the hard work throughout the season. 

When the new season began, many girls had tried out for the no-cut sport which resulted in splitting them up into three different teams, C-team, junior varsity, and varsity. All the teams were able to start the season off strong with a win for their first matches!

A new season also means new beginnings, while the previous coach for the girl’s varsity team embarks on her new journey at a different school, Ryan Galser stepped up to the plate and took on the position of becoming the new head coach. With a new coach stepping in, junior Madison Thorsen, a team captain on the varsity team, shared her thoughts on Galser. “I always appreciated how committed he was to the team. He helped us improve our techniques on the field and also created a positive environment.” Galser was able to lead the team into playoffs, and placed the girls fifth in districts, winning five games and losing four. Freshman varsity player Mya Toguchi hopes for next season to make it even further in districts. 

The varsity girls, within their journey to districts, became close as a team and built a strong bond with one another. One example of the friendships formed includes Maddie Thorsen’s friendship with co-captain, Joely Renk, who recognized her as an amazing model and teammate. “Joely is like a big sister to me, she’s a really easy person to talk to and lean to for advice. She was also somebody that I looked up to. I aspire to become a great role model to somebody like she was to me.”

Junior Madison Thorsen was one of the few selected for the 3A first-team All-league alongside her other co-captains seniors Joely Renk and Cali Turigliatto. Second team All-league qualifiers were senior August Kissinger, junior Lille Amies, and junior Emma High. Awards were also given out post-season to junior Lily Samwel for the best defender, sophomore Danika Holts for the most valuable player (MVP), freshman Andrea Nunez got the coaches award, and sophomore Avery Hoskins awarded for the best offensive player. 

On the junior varsity side, the team was able to achieve four victories, two ties, and only lost two games. Team captains for the JV team were senior Emily Yorke and junior Claire Smith. The JV team was able to grow very close throughout the season as time went on. “The girls and I had a great experience with each other, we stuck together through the good and bad, which helped build our bonds. We have great friendships on and off the field as well.” Smith explained. Sophomore JV player, Avery Hoskins, gave her view on the season. “I think at first we struggled a lot with the team’s chemistry, but as the season progressed, we were able to build a stronger bond and connect better as a team.” A memorable moment according to Hoskins was when they played against Camas High school. “The setup and game plan was well mapped out,” which led one of her teammates to score a forty-yard goal. Overall, the season for the Junior varsity girls was pretty successful according to the players. 

Even though the c-team did not have many games due to the small number of teams in the 3A division, the girls played marvelously. Team captains for the c-team, junior Isabelle Morrell and sophomore Emerson VanDeWege led their team to become closer.

The hard work that the Prairie girl’s soccer team put in was noticeable and clear through the friendships formed and the wins earned throughout the 2022 soccer season.