After struggling to rebuild last season, the girls’ varsity soccer team hopes that a roster full of experienced veteran players will lead them to success in their 2018 season.

This season, the Mustangs have about 22 returning players on the varsity roster. Head Coach Christopher Hernandez commented on how the familiarity that this season’s team has compares to past years.

“Last year’s team was a team in transition,” Hernandez said. “This year’s team with a year or two experience at the varsity level are probably more well rounded than the team in 2016 which was as high as number two [in the state].”

Soccer team captain and junior Abigail Wissler reiterated how the team this year is very knowledgeable about the game.

“We were really young last year, so this year our team is much more experienced,” Wissler said.

Despite the experience amongst the players, the team still has been working hard in practice to continue to improve themselves individually and as a whole. At practice, the team works on conditioning and technique while also working on communication and organization strategies in order to ensure that they can all work together as one unit on game day.

Captain and senior Emily Brindac,  commented on how the team has committed themselves to stay focused and driven during their practice times.

“Practices are pretty intense. As a team we all agreed we want to make it a priority to take every minute of training seriously. We can joke around before practices, throughout the school day, or during water breaks, but once we are on the turf there’s no more time for messing around,” Brindac said.

This “work ethic” as described by Hernandez is the biggest strength that he sees in this season’s team.

“They’re completely 100 percent invested in the program, and it shows on the field, and it’s going to show in games this year,” Hernandez said.

So far the Mustangs have played two games and have a record of 1-0-1. The Mustangs hope to score more wins throughout the season at games and at their tournament in Iowa on April 6 and 7 where they play the top teams from that state. Brindac commented on her excitement for this team trip.

“I always love our trip to Iowa. I feel like there’s something about being stuck on the school mini buses for hours that makes everyone get so much closer,” Brindac said.

After competing at this tournament, the girls will return home and jump right back into another team bonding experience by volunteering at the Mustang Trot on April 8. This dedication to the program helps each player on the team gain skill as a player and as an individual leader, which is described by Hernandez as one of the main focuses of the program.

“We have four captains right now, but we honestly could have 20. In our program we tell the girls on day one we don’t want it to be captains and everybody else. That means you’re a follower and we don’t want followers. We want you to voice your opinion, and if you have a problem with something that’s going on, talk to the captains and be open and honest because that’s what we are as coaches,” Hernandez said.

With a strong foundation of players and many opportunities for team bonding and communication planned in their future, the Mustangs are optimistic about what they will accomplish this season.

Wissler commented on the teams goals for this season.

“This year we have big expectations. We want to make a playoff appearance and for sure win regionals, which DGS is hosting,” Wissler said.

The Mustangs will play their next game against Bolingbrook on March 22 at the DGS Stadium. The team hopes that this game will help them prepare individually and holistically for the rigorous yet exciting season ahead of them.