Girls’ soccer slide-tackles Division II playoffs
Elleanor Quist, News Editor
Samo’s 2021-2022 season of varsity girls’ soccer was best summed up by the team’s final game against Westlake High School for CIF playoffs. Throughout the first half of the game, Samo was able to keep up with tougher competition than they had faced in previous years with a score of 1-1 at halftime. Though they ended up losing in the second half, they gave it their all until the end.
Similarly, Samo had a lot of success in earlier games compared to later games, with their win-to-loss ratio steadily going down during the season. The team’s first four games of the season were three wins and one loss, while the last four games were one win, one tie and two losses. However, Samo has been going up against more skilled opponents than ever before as a new Division II team, justifying some more recent losses. Captain Cassidy Van Cott (’22) is proud to even be in Division II.
“Overall, I consider this season to be a success. I was on varsity all four years. We started in Division III and finished in Division II, which was a tremendous achievement for the program. Being a close team made the season a lot of fun and helped us have many successful games,” Van Cott said.
This comradery sets Samo up well for future seasons too, as about 60 percent of the varsity team is made up of younger players like Sydney Forsyth (’23), who scored Samo’s only goal against Westlake, and Piper Forsyth (’25), her sister, and the only freshman on varsity.
Nicole Yumori, the girls’ varsity soccer coach, also appreciates the more interpersonal side of the sport.
“Every year, there is usually one moment where I am especially proud of a player for being selfless. Watching the girls evolve, not as players, but as young women and seeing them mature gives me joy,” Yumori said.
With a good number of players continuing on varsity and an emphasis on teamwork, Samo girls’ soccer is sure to progress even further in future years as a Division II team.
Members of the Samo varsity girls’ soccer team gather with one another after competing at their CIF playoff loss against Westlake on Feb. 12.