In 2003, the Gretna girls’ soccer team won their first NSAA Class A State title. Then, in 2012 and 2014, they earned two more. Starting a streak in 2021 and working towards a three-peat title, they continued this success in 2022 and 2023. Last year ended that row of wins as well as their participation in the Class A division for the Dragons.
Now the team is kicking off into the Class B division, aiming for goals on and off the field. Last year, there were 19 seniors. This year, there are five. This large decrease in seniors is in addition to a loss of starters and players as a whole. The smaller number of seniors by no means stops the leadership on this team, however.
“I think the biggest difference this year is our senior leadership is more focused on creating an environment that everyone wants to be a part of and everyone feels empowered, important, and like they need to and want to get better,” said Head Coach Rachel Twist. “So I’m really proud of our seniors for creating that environment.”
Leadership is found in more than just the seniors and the coaches. With the smaller number of girls, the juniors and underclassmen started their leadership earlier than normal. Yet, their leadership and connections on the team are stronger than ever.
“We have a very young team coming in, so it’s been a lot of adjusting to kind of being one of the younger on the team to being more of a leader,” sophomore Juliette Lilla said.
The team’s record of 3-7 is not the greatest, but the hard work and relationships are not lacking. Some players play all 80 minutes of the game, and other than their extensive panting when they run towards the bench at the half, they do not show their pain despite the extreme exhaustion they feel.
“I think that one thing we always need to work on…is just what to do when you feel like everything’s hard and when you feel like everything is almost like an impossible feeling. I feel like every game is hard and every practice is hard and how do we frame our minds…and work hard despite the fact that we know it’s going to be a big challenge… So just (we’re working on) framing their mindsets to be willing to embrace that challenge rather than be scared of it”
When gathering in a circle for the half time, Coach Twist expresses her appreciation of their dedicated hard work and warns that it can not end now; there are 40 more minutes to work harder. Ending the huddle, this team keeps their positivity, no matter the score. They chant together, “we can and we over me” repeatedly to keep that concept always in their mind.
“We chant those before every single game and at halftime every single time,” senior captain Gabby Herfindahl said. “Just to kind of, like, show that it’s everybody (working) together.”
There is no guarantee that all these girls have an A+ in their math class, but one equation they never seem to fail at is “we over me.” This team has not multiplied in numbers compared to last year, but they continue to grow closer relationships with one another and will never be divided.
