Senior week has always been a very important event for seniors who play a sport here at Charter. It is so valuable to them because, for some of them, this is the last time they get to do what they most enjoy with their team before they leave.
In particular, the soccer girls had their senior night on Tuesday, the seventh, at Cypress Park. The game started at 4 p.m. and ended at 5:40 p.m. Our school was versing Pompano, and surprisingly, it wasn’t the girls’ first time going against them. The girls had played them before and lost, but this time, since they were locked in and concentrated, they beat them with a score of 4-1. Maria Rojas and Marissa Miccioni scored the goals for their team.
Digging deeper into our dedicated players, Maria Rojas has played soccer since she was seven years old, and joined the school’s team when she came in sixth grade, then joined varsity in 8th.
She is very sad to be leaving her team and will miss them very much because they became like a second family to her. Her favorite soccer team is Real Madrid, and her favorite player is Bellingham because of his style of play and he plays her position which is midfielder.
Her most tragic memorable moment on the field was when at the end of the game she got a cramp on both of her calves because it was cold outside.
Maria was asked how she thought her team played at their game and she responded, “I feel like we played great, we knew that the game wasn’t going to be easy since we lost last year but everyone played hard while still having fun and it was overall a memorable senior night.”
Her mom, sister, grandma, cousins, friends, and aunt came out to support her and her team. When asked about her future, she stated to continue playing soccer in college but wants to look at her options and decide what’s best for her, so she is currently not signed up for college.
Next is Marissa Miccioni, who has been playing on varsity since the eighth grade. She thinks it’s a bittersweet feeling to be leaving her team but she is overall happy that she can move on to the next chapter of her life.
Her favorite soccer team is the USA women’s team, and her favorite player is Alex Martin. Marissa explains that she likes this player because she is a great player who brings good energy to the field, and now that she’s a mom she is a perfect role model to look up to.
Her most memorable moment was playing with her sister in her eighth and freshmen year; her sister graduated in the year 2022.
Marissa was asked how she thought her team played on senior night and she said, “Everyone had a great positive energy and this made us play with a lot of intensity but we also played with smiles and laughs by not taking the game too seriously.” Her family and friends came to support her, and when asked if she wanted to continue this sport in college she said no. She wants to study biomedical engineering since she has always loved math growing up.
Moving on to Abby Foster, who plays defense. She thinks it’s a bittersweet feeling and hates to stop playing because those girls have made such a close connection to each other but at the end of the day it was a perfect way to leave her soccer career.
Her favorite soccer team is Inter Miami and her favorite player is Neymar because he is a good player but also a good person at the same time.
Her most memorable moment was when in her freshman year her team played against Western and she secured her spot on the team, knowing that she felt happy and comfortable playing defense.
Abby was asked how she thought her team’s senior night went and she said, “I think senior night was a really great game, we knew going into it that Pompano was a good team so I think we stepped up to the challenge and got the job done so we could have a good time”. Her family, friends, boyfriend, and teachers came out to support her on this important day.
She says she continues to play soccer because it’s something that she always has loved and loves the friendships she has made out of it. Abby will not be signing up for any colleges for soccer. Instead, she wants to make a career out of something involving criminology.
Katiana Grace, goalie. She has been a goalie for nine years and continues to play the sport because she likes the environment, the friends she has made, and it gives her something to look up to stay motivated.
She is very upset to leave her team especially since she wasn’t able to play because she is on crutches. Kat broke her fibula and fibula playing soccer three weeks ago, so she just watched the game but was beyond happy for her teammates.
Her favorite team is Inter Miami, and her favorite player is Messi because he worked hard to get where he is, and he doesn’t let fame get to him.
Her most memorable moment is the bus rides to the games because everyone is laughing and having a fun time. The people who came out to support her were her friends, parents, and grandparents.
When asked how she thinks her team played since she has a different point of view from her teammates since she wasn’t playing she explained, “I think the team played good. There’s always ups and downs but it’s about how you can communicate with the team and fix it.” Kat does want to sign to a college for soccer because this is her passion but she doesn’t have any mind, she’s just exploring her options, trying to see what’s best for her.
Last but not least, Victoria Tedesco, center back. She has barely played soccer since her sophomore year because she has had around eight concussions and she wasn’t recommended to play anymore. She continued to play this sport because she thought the game was fun and got along with her teammates. She is also very sad that this is her last year because she didn’t play last year or this year, instead she was the manager who helped out.
Her favorite soccer team is Inter Miami and her favorite player is Messi because she feels he’s a good role model for younger players since he acts the same off and on the field. Her parents, cousins, and a bunch of friends came out to support so she made her feel greatly appreciated.
When Victoria was asked how she thought her team played she said, “I think we played very cohesively and gave the seniors a lot of opportunities to score so they could have fun for one of their last games.”
Her most memorable moment was being back on the field for senior night even if it was five minutes. She is not signing to any colleges for soccer because of her injuries but she will be studying biological science at FSU.
In the end, their senior night was very successful. All the girls felt that they played amazing and had a wonderful time which is all that matters. These relationships that they have created will forever benefit them regardless if they continue to pursue soccer in the long run.
Their coach at the end gave them personal speeches, one saying, “ You guys’ leadership skills are going to take you further than the field, you will accomplish great things because of how dedicated you are.” All the girls were inspired by these words really reflecting how far they have come. Wishing all the senior girls the best now leaving their high school chapter.