The Benilde-St. Margaret’s girls’ soccer team has made a standard of making the Minnesota Girls’ State Soccer tournament. This year, they look to go from making the state tournament to hopefully winning a championship title.
In any sport, especially at the varsity level, having a balance of rookie and veteran players is vital to a team’s success. This BSM team has a significant number of senior veterans to help lead the underclassmen to success. “We really only added three or four new players, one of whom was Olivia Olson who played forever. They know what the expectation is, and know what they are working towards. They’re able to hold the other girls accountable at a high level and go into the postseason. Experience and veteran leadership is always important, especially if you’re hoping to make a deep state run,” girls assistant soccer coach Calliane Olson said.
I think it definitely adds motivation. The seniors on this team have both bronze and silver medals, so we would love to finish it off with a gold medal
— Calliane Olson
On a competitive varsity team, such as BSM girls soccer, it could be intimidating for some, but not for these underclassmen who have been doing their jobs both on and off the field. One in particular is Aida Parker, a 9th grader who is one of the top scorers on the team. “I think they’re adjusting really well, not being overwhelmed by varsity soccer. They are slowly dipping their toes into it and getting a feel for the game. It’s a good thing that we have a few underclassmen this year to continue our tradition of excellence in girls soccer,” senior captain Brooklyn Miller said.
It’s easy for teams to get wrapped up by the rankings, but girls soccer has consistently been ranked high this season. “I think being ranked high adds confidence for sure. We try not to take much notice in the ranking because at the end of the day, the ranking is coaches’ polls. So we understand that it’s going to help for seeding going forward,” Olson said.
This year’s team has some extra motivation to finish on top. They will graduate 11 seniors this year who have come just short of winning the state championship the past two seasons. “I think it definitely adds motivation. The seniors on this team have both bronze and silver medals, so we would love to finish it off with a gold medal,” Miller said.