A Tough Kick Against Lancaster Catholic
On Saturday, Oct. 27, The Lady Rockets accomplished more than just a win: for the first time ever, the Girls’ Varsity Soccer team made it to Districts, beating an undefeated team.
“We applied everything we learned in practice,” said Bella Shupp (10).
To prepare for the big game, the girls practiced penalty kicks and shooting all week. Before the game, the girls got warmed up by dancing to music and doing a team prayer.
With freezing weather, a feuding crowd, and many tough players, the Lady Rockets managed to beat Lancaster Catholic. After the long game, the girls then went into double overtime, which were each 15 minutes long, and then lead to penalty kicks.
“My favorite memory was standing next to my team during the PK-shootout,” said Shupp.
Everyone was cheering in the crowds, hoping the Lady Rockets could achieve this step. With everyone on the edge of their seats, Breanna Dukehart (12) started the first round of penalty kicks, making the first goal. After twelve long nerve-racking rounds, Jade Wolfe (10) made the last shot which lead them to victory.
“It felt like having a piece of home along for the ride,” said Addy Crouse (10). “It kind of gives us a boost of energy knowing we have their support.”
A few of our students came all the way to support our Lady Rockets and cheered them on during the game, no matter how outnumbered they were to the Lancaster Catholic Student Section.
“We were confident in each other and focused on putting everything together,” said Crouse.
After Wolfe made the winning shot, the students and parents cheered as the girls piled on top of each other.
“The adrenaline was high and everyone swarmed each other while celebrating,” says Crouse
With tears running down their faces, they ran to their families and friends to celebrate the win they did not see coming.
The Lady Rockets are now moving onto semi-finals, playing Eastern Lebanon County at Donegal High School on Wednesday, Oct. 3.
Goals of Recovery
One of the strikers of Girls’ Varsity Soccer, Addy Crouse (9), was a strong attribute to the team before becoming afflicted with a concussion during a game against Greencastle
Hitting your head with an opposing team member. Being cleated while trying to gain possession of the soccer ball. Aggressively pushing and shoving the competition. Twisting your ankle while running down the field. These are just a few examples of what could happen to any player while participating in the sport of soccer.
It was Saturday, September 30th, when the Girls’ Varsity Soccer goalkeeper Meredith Iverson, 9, was guarding the net. She sustained an injury after a girl, from the opposite team, hit her in the face around her left eye.
“It was the first half and there was three minutes left,” said Iverson. “The ball came at me and I went for it and the girl just kept running and kneed me in the head.”
Iverson was pulled off the field immediately and eventually taken to the hospital once they realized further medical attention would be needed.
“We went to the hospital” Iverson said. “I got a scan and they told me my orbital bone, which is a bone in my eye socket, had a fracture in it and that tissue was caught in the bone.”
Iverson is now not allowed to play soccer until the doctors decide if she needs surgery or not. If she does need surgery, Iverson guesses it will be another month until she is allowed to be active in sports again.
Iverson, however, was not the only girl to experience an injury this year on the Girls’ Varsity Soccer team. The team’s strikers, Addy Crouse, 9, and Kadenn Martin, 9, were also injured.
Crouse suffered a concussion during a game against Greencastle. Having hit her head twice in the game, Crouse didn’t realize something was wrong until afterward when she was feeling dizzy and her head hurt.
“The trainer for Greencastle came over to me and was checking me out,” Crouse said. “She just said to go home and rest, but then I was trying to walk to the bus and I couldn’t even stand up straight.”
Crouse was then taken to the hospital where she was told that she could not play for two weeks. To prevent concussions from happening again, Crouse is supposed to wear a headband while playing soccer so that impacts to her head will not be as severe.
One of the other strikers, Martin, had torn her ACL. About eight months ago, Martin said she had hyperextended the tendon and that is when it originally tore. However, Martin did not realize she was injured until a Northern game a few weeks ago when it started bothering her. After playing a whole season being injured, Martin’s ACL is completely torn and she has to receive surgery.
“After that [surgery], it will take up to nine months to a year recovery,” Martin said. “It [ACL] hurts all the time, but there’s nothing I can do about it until I get surgery.”
All three athletes had a huge role on the soccer team and their absence forced the team to shift their line-ups and strategy. The girls are on their way to recovery so they are hoping to be ready to play next year.
