When the blistering summer heat fades that means fall sports are just around the corner. The lady rams are ready for the new season. In Spite of losing last year’s seniors, Highland women’s soccer players are gearing up to make this season better.

“I think it will be hard since we lost a lot of seniors. We just need to work together and anything can happen in soccer.” freshman Ashlyn Nelson said. “Because the game can go either way and we have a whole pre season to work really hard.”

Nelson is one of the players to watch this season. As a freshman this is her first year playing for the Rams. She will be starting on the varsity team playing both left and right wing. Surprised she made varsity, Nelson has stepped up her game and is excited play with such a welcoming team.

“It’s always fun having such young girls play up in the varsity level. Because it’s cool to see how much talent they have.” Straw said, “She is already so committed, devoted and she works really hard in practice.”

This years team will be lead by three new captains. Seniors Gracie Mae Smith, defensive mid and Kelsey Straw, center back. Junior Meg Boren joins them playing attacking center mid. These team leaders have stepped it up to make this year’s team successful by being hardworking, dedicated and encouraging. Having played since freshman year all three have embodied the spirit of Highland women’s soccer.

“Being a captain as a junior makes me feel motivated to work hard, be positive for the girls and pump them up.” Boren said, “ We give advice to the girls and take responsibility for the team.”

The first pre-season game was a big victory for Highland. The game was at home against Judge Memorial and the score was 2-0. After the first half neither Highland or Judge had scored. The second half both Boren and forward Annie Murdock made amazing goals. The season started out well and will continue with the dedications of the girls.

“I think the season is going pretty well. We lost to really good teams and we know what we need to work on and how to play as a team.” Smith said, “When we beat Judge we made goals by passing and working as a team not just by luck.”

After 6 pre-season games the players and coaches know what they need to work on to improve the team as a whole. Pre-season is meant to prepare all the teams in the region. Practices have been modified to help the team in areas where they are the weakest. The team has worked on defense and their shots.

“I think our skill level and the chemistry as a team still needs a lot of work but we’ve definitely improved since our first game.” Straw said,  “So going into the game against Olympus is going to be tough but by playing them we will learn and get better.”

The official season starts August 29, where the Rams will play the Olympus Titans. The players are really excited for the season and becoming a better team. They plan on having a great rest of the season with help from their dedicated coaches Brad Kooyman and Chris Madsen.