On Wednesday, Nov. 30, girls varsity soccer had their first game of the season at Jacket Stadium against Pittsburg High School. It was a freezing cold night, but that did not slow them down.
The girls started off strong in the first half. Senior Myah Polzin made the first goal, with an assist from senior Luisa Bertolli. Polzin was out with a torn ACL last season, and this was her first game back. The second half kicked off with a header into the goal from Polzin that was saved by a header from Pittsburg’s goalkeeper. However, soon after the block there was a goal from defender Amelie Haji. This was followed by a goal from freshman Terren Davis, with another assist from Bertolli.
In the middle of the second half, a series of headers that resulted in a Berkeley goal. It was deemed a “team effort” goal by the BHS coaches, bringing the score up to 4-0. Soon after, Polzin had an amazing breakaway from the 30 yard line straight into the goal. The game came to a close with wing player Alex Freeman scoring a point, ending with an astonishing 6-0 win for Berkeley High School.
Erin Freeman, who also plays wing, was very excited that the season opener went so well. “It was good to finally see the training that we’ve been doing pay off in the game, and seeing everybody play all together,” Freeman said. Like Polzin, both Freeman sisters were out with torn ACLs last season, so this was a big game for them, too.
Riley Harmon is a new soccer coach at BHS this year. This is her first season coaching, as well as her first game as a coach. She acknowledged that Polzin was a big asset to this game. “Her (Polzin) scoring two goals was great to watch.” Harmon has a lot of confidence in this year’s team. “I’m excited to win a lot of games, hopefully, I feel like we have a lot of potential and I think we’re gonna just keep on improving.”
BHS’s other head coach Alejandro Mendoza has been coaching soccer for nine years, and plans to use previous connections with older players to help newer ones.
“I use the players that I’ve known a little bit longer to influence and inspire the ones that are new,” he said. “First game, new season, new team, it’s always scary, but the (players) that are more familiar with it can get acclimated quicker, so I want them to help new players with the additional learning curve.”
Luisa Bertolli is a sports editor on the Jacket.