The Malden High Girls soccer team competed in a well fought game against Andover on Friday, November 3rd. Although the MHS girls lost 1-0, they maintained strong defense throughout.
Junior Angela Tejada-Soliz explains that their experience at states was nothing short of what they had expected. She continues to describe that they all played their best game and “definitely gave them some competition.”
Junior Genevieve Murphy stated, “[she thinks] that [they] played very well and it was a tough team but [they] held [their] own against them.” She is very happy with the game and would not have done anything differently.
Junior Salma Bezzat admits the team could have done better. She stated, “[they] were in the game the entire 90 minutes and there’s most certainly some good things that [they] did, but also some other things [they’ll] need to work on for next year.”
Bezzat explains that Andover played well and scored a “good goal.” Although MHS girls were not able to advance to the next round, Bezzat explains that made girls soccer history, given that “this is only the second time that MHS girls soccer has made it to states.
Bezzat also mentions that the team went home with their heads held high and continued to support the boys soccer team in their states game. She stated, “[they] didn’t let this loss get to [them], it’s the past now and [their] heads are now on for the next season.”
Bezzat hopes to improve her confidence because fear affected the team’s performance. She stated, “as soon as we touched the ball at the start of the whistle, and the opposing team started pushing [her], [she] wasn’t scared anymore.” She also explains that having more communication is something her team can always work on.
Despite the loss in the first round of states, MHS took a great leap forward compared to last season.
