Girls getting goals
Senior Cassidy Eggers defends against Gering.
Spring fever has set in for most of us, and the Lady Bulldogs soccer team has been let out of its cage. They opened up their season with a home game against Grand Island at Madison Middle School, on March 19th. They emerged with a 5-1 win over the Lady Islanders. They got another victory when they faced off against Gering at home. They nabbed their third win of the season last Saturday in Lincoln, with a score of 6-0 over Lincoln High. The Lady Bulldogs are hoping to ride this wave all the way to state.
Senior midfielder Morgan Raska, is excited for her last season at North Platte and is preparing to further her soccer career at Concordia University. “I do think we can make it to state, but it’s going to take a lot hard of work,” Raska said. She is taking her roles as a senior very seriously, “I just want to be able to support my team on and off the field,” said Raska.
“I think the biggest obstacle for us right now will be learning to play with each other as a team.” Raska said she can be very competitive, and sometimes has to bite her tongue for the sake of the team. She said the hardest part about soccer is the mental aspect and the fact that you can’t control what your teammates do.
The Lady Dawgs will not be able to practice on the turf this season, due to the track team needing the facilities. They will still play games on turf at other schools, and host a few games on the turf at NPHS. “The speed of the ball is a lot faster on turf, and it bounces everywhere,” Raska said. “It can be a hard adjustment to make.” Yet this didn’t keep the Lady Dawgs from dominating over Gering 7-0.
There are seven seniors on the team this year suiting up for their final season. Senior Carli Anderson plays right wing for the Lady Bulldogs and said she fell in love with the game when she was 7-years-old. “It’s crazy that it’s my last year, it doesn’t feel real,” said Anderson. “When I was a freshman, I was super quiet, but now that I’m a senior, I know that I’m a leader, and I need to vocalize on the field.” Anderson said her coaches’ encouragement throughout the years has kept her going. “My family has always supported me, and my coaches love for what they do just really inspires me to play,” she said.
JV and Varsity will face off against a challenging Lincoln SE team tonight, April 1st, with games at 4:00, and 5:45, at Madison Middle School.