Oak Park High School’s varsity girls soccer season ran from the beginning of November to beginning of February with the last league game being on Jan. 31. The team finished the season strong with a 1-1 tie to Simi Valley. Out of 17 games, the team has won nine, lost six and tied two games. There were some close wins with the team falling short on just a goal or two. 

The team made it to the second round of playoffs. The first game of playoffs was an away game at Agoura where the girls won 2-1. The season came to an end when they lost 2-1 in OT against Santa Paula on Feb. 8. The Varsity girls soccer team finished 3rd in the Coastal Canyon League in the 2022- 2023 season. 

The team won several league tournaments at the beginning of December. They scored 7-1 against Mission Prep, 2-0 against Temescal Canyon and 3-1 against Morro Bay. 

Varsity midfielder and junior Avery Mansmann recounts the most memorable moments of her varsity season. 

“The Newport tournament was one of the most memorable moments of the season because that’s where our team became one. We were able to laugh, joke, and make long-lasting friendships. We had great results before pre-season back at home,” Mansmann wrote. 

Likewise, junior Sydney Robertson also enjoyed the Newport tournament as it brought the team closer together. 

“The most memorable moment was the Newport tournament during pre-season. It was super fun and we all got closer during the trip,” Robertson wrote.

Every athletic team has strengths and things they have to work on more. Sophomore Kate Buchler, who is center back on varsity, noticed some strengths and weaknesses of the team after the hard work they put in. 

“I think some strengths were our passing skills but we have to work on heading the ball in the air. Playing league games made us realize how much time and work we put in and watching it pay off was really exciting,” Buchler said. 

Similarly, Mansmann believes the team’s strengths this season was their work ethics and conditions. The closer the team bond is, the better they will play. 

“Our biggest strengths were our work rate and connections. We are all so close off the field and you can really tell how close we are when one of us goes down and we have a whole team to get us back up,” Mansmann wrote. 

Although the team is able to form close relationships with one another, the team can come in the games with more energy as that can impact how they play for the rest of the game.

“One thing we can work on is coming into the games with a lot of energy and starting strong. We noticed when we did that we had amazing games. But when we were slow to warm up, the energy was low and we didn’t perform to our full potential,” Mansmann wrote. 

Buchler thinks the team did great this season as they had a lot of fun together but they will definitely step it up next year. 

“The season was so much fun, especially since it was my first time playing soccer at the high school. The team was so much fun to be around and the coach was the best one yet. I think the season went pretty well but next season we will be taking the win,” Buchler wrote.