WOODBURY — In November 2024, the Woodbury Middle School girls soccer team retired from their field, the endearingly nicknamed “Dust Bowl,” after their last practice of the season.
As the cleats came off and the ground settled, the season sank in: 10 wins, two ties, one loss. For nine of the eighth-graders’ middle school careers, they compiled 33 wins, three ties, and one loss.
That one loss came from the first game of the season against Thomaston, and it stayed on the team’s mind for the rest of the year.
What went wrong? It was the question on the tip of everyone’s tongues.
“There was a lot of arguing and we weren’t a real team yet,” seventh-grader Penelope Losh said.
The seventh grader thinks that maybe with time it would have gotten better, but plenty of other people think differently.
Connor Mooney, the girls soccer coach, thought the team enjoyed a great season despite needing to replace talented players.
“We had shoes to fill of really strong leaders and really strong players,” Mooney said.
Bad luck can be a factor in losses, too.
“Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way,” said Chris McGrath, former athletic director and girls soccer coach.
While there are varying opinions depending on who you ask, one fact is indisputable: The game did not go the way it could have.
The girls soccer team avenged the loss when they beat Thomaston, 2-0, at Woodbury Middle School. This, however, did not take away the fact that the season had been at least somewhat spoiled; and the eighth-graders’ dreams of having an undefeated middle school career had vanished.
“The girls wanted to have a full undefeated middle school career,” said Harper Vendt, an eighth-grade soccer player.
But will the season last year hinder the spirits of players next fall? Upcoming eighth graders are set on bringing the team to yet another undefeated season. The only problem is, what will keep next year from being the same as the last?
“Next season I think that before our first game we should have more time to bond and get to know each other,” Losh said. “I know it is not a lot, but mentally it puts you in a better headspace and you feel more comfortable with your team.”
“We have to make the new girls feel important and included, make them know their role so others can too,” Mooney said.
Many people seem to think that the problem was more mental than anything, and next year the soccer team will focus on that aspect of soccer that is so frequently overlooked.
The eighth-graders next year have their work cut out for them, but if they work on bringing the team together and making people more comfortable to try their best, then the team might just return to its former glory.
