The Lady Rams soccer is heading to the playoffs after a shutout against Cottonwood on senior night. It was a chilly Tuesday evening, dropping down to the mid 30s. Nonetheless, a generous crowd showed up to support the Highland Women’s Soccer team. 

Tessa Croft, Jayne Connolly, Grace Hall, Rachel Straight, Cecelia Abalos, Nona Wolfgramm, and Annie Murdock were the senior starters of the night. They played with passion due to it being their last home game.

Highland played the game offensively and maintained possession of the ball for a majority of the game. The Colts had trouble pressuring the Rams and so the ball stayed up near their goal.

If the ball got near Highland’s goal, it was instantly shut down by the Rams’ strong defense and goalie. 

Whenever the ball dropped back, towards Highland’s defense, it was quickly deterred by #20, Emmy Boren. She used her speed to catch up with any run towards goal by Cottonwood’s offense.

#12, Nona Wolfgramm, played her part in goal. Nothing got past her and she was always ready to dive on the ball. Deflecting every shot, she kept the Colts’ score at 0 for the entirety of the game.

Senior, Annie Murdock got quite a few runs towards goal, assisted by her teammates such as fellow senior, Jayne Connolly. Cottonwood’s goalie got her hands on all of the shots before they hit the net, but the Rams still persisted.

The girls put up a fight in the first half and kept the score 0-0.

Halftime came and it got even colder outside. Despite the freezing temperatures, the Rams stayed on their toes and came into the second half even more aggressively. They wanted the win, and would stop at nothing to get a shot in.

Finally, with just under 15 minutes left in the game, Cecillia Abalos, a senior, scored the game winning goal. She ran towards the goal head on and slammed the ball in with such force that the Cottonwood keeper was no match. When asked about this moment Abalos said:

“All my teammates came and hugged me and I just felt so happy knowing all our hard work paid off!”

The energy on the field after the goal was unmatched. The crowd became rowdier and the players felt it because they played even more aggressively.

The game came to an end , the score being 1-0, Highland. It was a low scoring game, but both teams definitely put up a fight.

Cecilia Abalos gave her thoughts about the game and the season in general:

“It felt so amazing to score. I was in shock when the ball went in and I didn’t even know how to react…It was emotional in a good way. It helped so much to have such a big supportive crowd and teammates because I think it really pushed us to play our best. We have really struggled throughout our season but these last couple of games, and going into the playoffs, I know that we all really want to winand put in the work despite what everyone else thinks. I am just really proud of us and I know that we wanted that game more!”

Overall, the girls played as a team and were able to pull through with a win.They are heading into the playoffs, hoping to secure a win. Make sure to support Highland Women’s Soccer at their first playoff game! 

Rams plan to play Murray on October 10th at 4:00 in the first round of playoffs. Show up at Murray Park to support your Lady Rams.