Sadly, the Hawthorne High School girls’ varsity soccer season came to an end on Thursday, November 2 at Westwood. The girls ended their season with a 15-4-0 record, which is one of the best the school has seen for girl’s soccer. The girls really earned it, beating their rival Pompton and competing head-to-head with teams that most would presume an easy win for the other team. Because of this, this year’s girl’s varsity soccer team was not only special to our school, but they stood out to competing schools as well.

Some highlights of this year’s season were sadly losses, but they were also the games that the girls performed their best. The first game that shocked many was the second game home against Glen Rock. Usually, the girls put up a fight, but this time was much different. This game was tied 1-1, and the girls dominated most of the game; much to Glen Rock’s surprise. Although the girls dominated the field, the overall score ended up being 2-1 in Glen Rock’s favor, but that is where the team started catching people’s attention.

The next game that turned heads was the county game against Wayne Hills. Wayne Hills, as many would know, is a huge school with amazing athletes. They were supposed to win the game by a landslide, but no such thing happened. Although Hawthorne may be a lot smaller than Wayne, the girls did not show it. The game stayed 2-2 until overtime, where the girls lost 3-2. But, here again, Hawthorne girl’s varsity soccer was being recognized as a force to be reckoned with.

One of the biggest games the girls played this year was their first state game against River Dell. The game was home and although the girls felt good about it, critics still presumed River Dell would come out with the win; they were very wrong. The game ended with a score of 2-1, giving the girls a second state game.

Sadly, the second game did not have the same outcome as the first, but it was played just as well. Not much to the girls’ surprise, but very much a surprise to Westwood, the game went into overtime with a score of 3-3 when senior Kayla Miller scored off a corner kick with 26 seconds left. The game could have gone either way, but sadly Westwood ended up scoring the golden goal and won with a final score of 3-4.

The HHS girl’s varsity soccer coach, Gus Schell, claims he does not believe in moral victories. However, it is indisputable that the losses the girls had to those fierce opponents were absolutely victories to them. Although they may not have won those games, they certainly made a name for Hawthorne girls’ varsity soccer.