During the girls varsity soccer team’s first game of the Hampshire High School Invitational, they played Hampshire and won 1-0, with the only goal being scored by junior Mikayla Holway in the second half. They were able to keep up their strong defense the whole game and come out on top.

“The games went really well,” sophomore Chloe Krumrai said. “We were able to try out new ideas and it gave us more opportunities.”

On the second day of the invite, the Sequoits played two games. For their matchup against Larkin, the team suffered a tough loss, 3-0. The girl’s offense was struggling and the Sequoit defense couldn’t keep up with Larkin’s offense.

“They were able to break down our defense and slip balls through the gaps to try to create opportunities and we weren’t able to get to the goal as much,” sophomore Kaitlyn Holmes said. “We moved the ball well most of the first half, but when they woke up in the second half, we didn’t.”

Later that second day of the invite, the girls played again. This time they played against Marengo. The Sequoits learned from their mistakes and came out very confident in their game. The team’s five goals were scored by freshman Carolyn Monaco, sophomore Lauren Gissel, junior Kacey Meltzer and seniors Rebecca Brnot and Isabella Mateja.

“I think the biggest thing we need to work on is not only growing as a team, but as a family,” Monaco said. “The bond between all of us definitely needs to expand and grow stronger.”

Overall, the Sequoits finished second in the invitational. As the team moves forward, they look to make their second place finish into a first place finish in conference.