With the Girls’ Soccer Team season ending with a 9-1 win against Chelsea on their senior night at MacDonald Stadium, we cannot forget the seniors who have played and faced many challenges along the way. One of the seniors who encountered such adversities is captain and center defensive midfielder, Beatriz “Bia” Souza Santos.
Santos is a four-year varsity soccer player for Malden High School but has loved soccer ever since childhood. She has been playing since she was 8 years old.
“Playing soccer runs in my family,” she said.
Throughout the season, Santos faced many challenges. She said, “This season, we struggled a lot in the beginning with many losses … [and] communication on the field. Since there was a large group of people that were new to playing in high school and on varsity, we didn’t really know each other, so it was hard to build chemistry.”
But even with all of the challenges, the team learned how to work together. Santos added, “After the first few weeks of games, we started to get to know each other and learn to play with each other, and that helped us with the rest of the season.”
Despite the many challenges, Santos said the team has also had many successes. She explained, “I think one of our biggest achievements was being able to grow as a team. At the end of the season, you can see how everyone has improved.”
Being a captain isn’t always an easy job for everyone, but Santos loves the role and said, “I love being captain and the leadership role that comes with it, and it definitely takes a lot of work on and off the field.”
Soccer coach Anita Caceda also had a few words about Santos’ leadership. She said, “Bia is an awesome captain, [and] she is a natural leader, which is what any team wants [or] needs in a captain. She’s a great role model for the entire team. She sets a high standard for her academics and is a great example of a student-athlete.”
Santos has been a captain for two seasons now since she was junior captain last season. But the reason why Caceda chose Santos as a captain is because of her commitment to the team, as well as her leadership and discipline to herself and the team.
Aside from her role as captain, Caceda stated, “[Santos] is an all-around good person, great student, and an even better friend. Anyone is lucky to know her, have her in their class, or on their team.”
Santos also received a few words from her teammates. Freshman player Nyla Pierre described Santos as a “very sweet, and kind person,” and freshman player Amelia Berliner called Santos a “responsible” person.
