Women

“We pay you the big bucks to score something out there!” yelled West High’s varsity girls coach in frustration as the game entered its second half, and the coach’s sentiments were shared by the expectant crowd. The annual City v. West soccer game was progressing at a slow pace, with only a few attempted shots made by either side. As the game entered its final five minutes, the score was still tied up 0-0. That’s when freshmen Mia DePrenger saw her chance. Working around West’s defensive players, the new varsity athlete scored her, and City’s, very first goal of the season.

“It was something that I’ve never felt before,” DePrenger said. “Coming back with my teammates and having them all crowd around me…I did not know what was going on. You have a goal scoring opportunity, you take it, and it’s one of the best feelings.”

The win against West High was not exactly expected, members of the team agreed. The girls’ confidence was slightly shaken going into Tuesday night, as several of their key players were nursing injuries or out completely. But a high level of performance from a new crop of underclassmen players proved vital, with team members such as Cora Becker ’22 and Stella Foster ’21 taking control of the ball in key moments.

“I think we all worked really hard and put 100% effort into the game, and I was really proud of everyone that played today,” Foster said. “It made us all more excited for the rest of the season, the rest is gonna be good.”

Senior leaders Madeline Pugh, Sam Schroeder, and Naomi Meurice celebrated a second-year streak of wins against the cross town rival, and all agree it was a good game to go out on.

Men

As the boys took the field, the rain, and the temperature, began to drop. After a win last year against “the school across the river”, City High was eager to take on their rivals once again. The crowd swelled, and tensed for the start of the game. But with an early West goal scored by Tomas Sanchez ’20 in the first half, it started a long, uphill road to the end.

“They are obviously a good team,” goalie Alex Griemann ’19 said. “But we didn’t play our best and this just motivates us to work harder the rest of the year. They definitely had the edge most of the game, but towards the end we started composing ourselves and we looked a little better.” 

Both teams relied heavily on subs throughout the game, and after three yellow cards and several failed goal attempts, West walked away with a win 0-1.