RECOVERY: After a rough start, Riverside Poly’s varsity girls’ soccer team goes undefeated in the Inland Valley League.
By Jack Weggeland, Staff Writer
For the first time in years, Poly girls’ varsity soccer accomplished its goal of going undefeated in league and winning a title. The girls’ last league game against John W. North High School was a clear representation of their strong season.
Despite their impressive performance in league, the lady Bears had an extremely difficult preseason as they competed against some of the top teams in California. With zero wins, six ties and four losses, Poly needed to regroup before regular season and league play began. “We needed to get our minds set that league is the only thing that matters because that’s what gets us to CIF, so we put the past behind us and moved on,” Captain Taylor Russell (12) stated.
The struggles the team faced during preseason would prove to play an important role in the regular season. The players pulled together as a team and developed great chemistry on the field which strongly distinguished them from last year’s varsity team. With all aspects of their game improved, the Poly Bears proved to be unstoppable in the Inland Valley League. Varsity player Shelby Samuelson (12) commented, “I believe this year’s team is better than last year’s team because we get along so well, which develops good rhythm throughout the game.”
Riverside Poly’s girls’ soccer program had a stellar performance, going 10-0 in the regular season and claiming their rightfully earned Inland Valley League title. The girls trained countless hours after school and on the weekends to improve nearly every aspect of their game—not individually, but as a team. Those practices proved to be worth it. Over the course of the girls’ ten game league stand, they averaged 3.5 goals per game and held nearly every team to zero goals, with the exception of Canyon Springs High School. Varsity player Peyton Perea (12) stated, “Our team’s success has and always will be based on our chemistry. We play and work together as a whole, and we educate to the fullest extent. [Coach] Brewer brings the best out of the girls, and it shows on the field during game time.”