While the girls soccer team started the season off worried about losing eight seniors, the team managed to reassemble after tryouts. To kick off the season, the team traveled to Duluth to bond with each other and build morale. During their time up north, they found new ways to laugh with each other.

“On our team trip, we were having some grapes as a snack and then [head coach] Ben Bollingeer Danielson started throwing them into our mouths from far away,” Co-captain Dina Moradian said.

“B-dan tries to make our practices really fun by playing his jams and that gets us going,” Moradian added.

The team often plays small sided games in practice in which the basics of soccer like touches and quick passing are essential, which allows them to foster up good habits for upcoming games.

“We have a game called Top Gun because B-dan really likes [the 1989 movie] Top Gun. It’s 2v2 with the rebounders and when you get scored on you go out to the sidelines. You play to ten goals to win a round, with the best of four winning, and they are the champions,” Moradian said.

Moradian claims that team accountability is essential for success, because without it, a team lacks professionalism and composure.

“We hold each other account on and off the field. We are teammates first, and we have to keep each other out of trouble. That’s what it means to be a part of a team,” Moradian said.