The Lady Panthers varsity soccer team ended their season last Monday with a tough playoff game against the Marist School War Eagles, 4-1.
Marist quickly scored a goal two minutes into the first half of the game. After the goal, the teams fought hard with a lot of back and forth possession.
“We tend to go too big, too fast, and we struggle when we do that, but overall, it’s been a good year,” head coach John Bowen said.
Just minutes later, Marist scored again, going up 2-0. The game balanced out with both teams trading possession.
Near the end of the first half, Marist increased the lead to 3-0. Sophomore right forward Avany Yeager persisted in maintaining possession for the Panthers, eventually assisting the only goal for Starr’s Mill when freshman Ava Burnside narrowed the score to 3-1.
“I think we started off strong, but when they first scored those two goals right at the beginning, it kind of lowered us, but then we built it all back up,” Yeager said.
The Panther defense looked stronger to begin the second half, blocking three shots on goal. Marist scored once more to advance to the AAAA state semifinals after a 4-1 win.
Along with advancing to the state quarterfinals, Bowen was named Coach of the Year, and seven girls earned All-Region Team honors. Junior Kendra Ivaska was named Region Player of the Year after breaking the school record for goals scored in a career. Ivaska’s record is currently 89 goals, and she sits second on the school’s all-time points list.