On Dec. 11, Irvington’ girls’ varsity soccer team won their game against the Washington Huskies with a final score of 2-1. The win was particularly exciting for the girls as the game was the first of their regular season.

All three goals of the game were scored in the first half of the game. Irvington started the game very strong, with good passes between team members leading to forward Darya Rasoli (12) scoring twice within the first 20 minutes of the match. However, Washington soon scored a goal due to a lack of marking by Irvington’s defense. Fortunately, the team quickly recovered and blocked the rest of Washington’s attempts to score.

“I think we played really well together as a team for the first half but then we didn’t communicate in the second half, causing breakdowns,” said team captain Gabriella Funk (12).

Although both teams had numerous chances to score in the rest of the match, both missed their opportunities due to poor communication between team members. In the second half, Irvington’s goalie committed a back-pass foul, which led to the Huskies being awarded an indirect free kick very close to Irvington’s goal, but it was blocked by the team’s defensive wall.

“It was the first game so it was a little challenging getting used to everyone’s playing styles, but everyone worked so hard and we’re very happy with the win,” said Rissa Chandy (12).

Even though the team was victorious in their first game of the season, they are still looking for ways to improve as individuals and as a team.

“We had a lot of chances we could have finished, so we need to make sure we can all work together as a team better,” said Rasoli.

In the end, the girls were very happy to win their first match of the season and hope that it foreshadows a strong season. They will face American High School on Dec. 20.