There was a living, growing presence following the girls soccer team this season. Once you joined the team, this presence engulfed you. It’s there when forward Lily Bryan (12) tosses you a tangerine for good luck and Vitamin C. It’s there when a raucous of barks, meows, and neighs from teammates and assistant coach Nic Spiess distract midfielder Rachel Handy (12) from making her penalty kick during practice. It’s there when four players on the bench huddle under the same blanket, shielding themselves from winds that whip ponytails and palm leaves in teeth-chattering temperatures that bite. It was there for the CIF Open Division Finals Game on the Carlsbad High School field the night of Feb. 25.

That evening, it seemed that even the weather was enchanted by the girls soccer team. After hours of rain, the clouds drifted and the beautiful blue sky’s sun beamed at the girls and reflected off of the still-damp field. 

From the blow of the starting whistle, the game between Westview and La Costa Canyon was a stalemate ping pong match. By halftime, the score was still 0-0, something coach Peter Stogsdill cited as a positive in the team huddle. This was undoubtedly going to be a 1-0 fight to the bitter end. Stogsdill said to the girls at halftime that LCC was outworking, out-communicating, and out-cheering Westview, despite Westview being the better team. 

The wingers needed to play the flanks of the field. Almost paradoxically, the team needed to relax, while also increasing their energy. 

Three minutes into the second half, at the 30-yard line, center back Kate Sealy (12) positioned her free-kick toward the goal. “Goal!” teammates on the bench shouted, just for their voices to quickly fade. No goal, it was blocked and headed out by LCC. “Unlucky,” echoed from the bench.

But they had another shot. Forward Mariam Salem (12) took the ball from the corner and crossed the ball toward the goal, and it looked like the goalie had saved it. Anya Van Den Einde (12) with sharp instincts, liked to put pressure on the goalie. The goalie faltered and Van Den Einde decisively swooped in from the left of the goal and scored, giving Westview a 1-0 lead. 

The dissonant drone of a didgeridoo and the shouts of teenage boys rang out distinctly among the cheers of family and friends. There was this presence again. Although there was no established Black Hole in attendance, parents, friends, and the dedicated legion of boyfriends and boy friends made up for it, consisting of Sealy’s boyfriend Ryan Herrod (12), Handy’s (12) Even Erickson, Athena Davis’ (12) Jacob Costa (12), Bella Santos’ (12) Henry Lemersal (12), Bryan’s Edward Hopkins (12), Bryce Carter (12), Noah Bell (12), amd Henry Clark (12). 

Not even two minutes later, the roars became silent. LCC kicked in a corner and Sealy rammed head to head into an opposing player, sending both players to the ground. The heart of the Westview defense was taken off of the field to encouraging applause. Van Den Einde was moved to center back. 

Despite a weakened defense without Sealy, Soraya Souvanaphong (10) saved goal after goal and stalled for time to maintain the Wolverines’ edge. 

Three whistles cut through the air; a sign that the game had ended. A roar erupted from the home side. The girls on the bench were quickly on their feet, running to the players on the field with arms raised in excitement and ready for embraces.​​ The neon pink duct tape they wrapped around their wrists at the beginning of CIFs, a tradition—some tattered from sweat, showers, and life—peeked out from their black undershirts. 

“You’re here,” Stogsdill said in the team huddle. 

“Seize the moment, ladies,” Spiess said.

After the game, on that cold night, despite the now pounding rain, the atmosphere was ablaze. Girls with ponytails, French braids, and headbands, wearing varsity jackets with CIF patches, windbreakers, and sweatshirts filled Pitchers Sports Bar under the warm glow of incandescent lights.

It wasn’t the heaters that hung from the ceilings that kept them cozy, it was that presence: the steam of shared hamburgers and french fries, the breath of conversation and laughter, the warmth of bodies squeezed onto tables not meant to fit that many people, and a sweet, sweet victory. The 47-degree weather was frigid, but the night was so warm. 

“Over the years, we’ve had a lot of good teams,” Spiess said. “The teams that go the furthest are the teams that are best connected to each other and have the best chemistry. It’s one of the most important factors out of any other factors you can have. We’ve had some great teams that didn’t go anywhere. And this team, they all love each other. It’s amazing.”

For a team with 12 seniors and 22 total players, this team dynamic has been a long time in the making, even before high school soccer began. Sealy, Santos, and Handy, for instance, have played on the same teams for 10 years. 

Handy was born with soccer in her blood. Her mom and dad, Alex Handy, had met playing for their junior college’s soccer team. At Rachel’s older sister, Lauren Handy’s (’21), soccer games, Rachel and her dad would kick the ball on the sidelines. Impressed by her coordination and ability to kick the ball with correct form, Alex not only signed up Rachel for recreational soccer, but also signed up to coach the team himself. 

At games, Alex said that two pigtails contained Rachel’s wavy hair, her untucked shirt looked like a dress, and her shorts reached her kneecaps. The little girls on the field tried just as hard to score goals as they did to not trip on the potholes that riddled the fields covered with overgrown grass and weeds.

“[The recreational games were an] informal introduction to touching the ball, and literally, the first game that she ever played, she scored 10 goals,” Alex said. “I am fairly well versed in soccer and my wife is, and we thought she had some talent just by seeing her on the sidelines. But when she actually played in the game, it was astounding. Both of our jaws dropped.”

After witnessing Rachel’s clear aptitude for the sport, her parents signed her up for competitive soccer. 

When Santos was 7, she met Handy and Sealy on her first club soccer team. They went to each other’s birthday parties each year, going to sleepovers or jumping on trampolines at Get Air. They reached milestones together.

“I remember a couple of years ago, even though it was COVID, we all got our driver’s licenses at the same time,” Santos said. “We all started driving to practices, and since we all take the same route, we would always drive in a line and wave at each other at the stoplights.”

The enduring friendship that the trio formed has been a positive constant in Santos’ life. 

“I trust them a lot and I feel like, at the end of the day, even though I’ve made so many mistakes on and off the field, they’ve still stayed my friends this whole time, which is really nice to know,” Santos said. “Seeing how they’ve been growing with me all these years at the same time that I’ve been growing, just knowing that they’ll always be there, is really nice.

Alex said that he has seen Sealy, Santos, and Handy grow on and off the field together. Just as their first competitive coach joked, he still encourages Santos to use her height to win the ball when a high ball sails over her petite stature. He still calls Sealy, Katie Seal, after an announcer at the 2021 State Cup flubbed her name as they were calling out the names on the team roster. He’s one of the loudest parents cheering in the stands, for Rachel, for Santos, for Sealy—for the team.

“[My dad has] pushed me in a lot of ways to get me where I am,” Rachel said. “He’s always super supportive after every game, even if I wouldn’t play just because of my injury. He would still hug me and I could always tell that he was really happy and proud.” 

Eventually, Rachel, Santos, and Sealy, joined a competitive team with Davis. 

At age 6, Davis had fallen in love. As a baseball family, her dad, a former baseball player at SDSU, had pulled her toward softball and her mother, Aliki Davis, had pulled her toward dance. Davis’ heart, however, was on the soccer field. 

She was a part of the Lavender Lazers team in the PQ Recreational league, with long hair in a ponytail, and a purple bow that her mom had to persuade her to wear. 

“She was just always very, very tough,” Aliki said. “Her brothers were tough on her. Growing up,  I remember I was upstairs, and I heard this horrible crashing sound. I came downstairs and they had dressed her in football gear with the helmet and the big pads, and I found them throwing her up against the wall. She would get right back up and walk over to them, so she’s always been really tough. She’s never shied away from any type of contact. She was just so tiny and she looked fragile, but she wasn’t.”

Competitive coach Kenny Daum persistently called Athena’s father, asking Athena to play on his team. Intent on his daughter playing softball, he would ignore Daum’s calls. Neighbors and friends encouraged Athena’s parents to let her play soccer competitively. 

“[Daum] saw the talent right away,” Aliki said. “I think he recognized the potential [when] even the people that were closest to her didn’t. I’m really, really, really thankful for him just not leaving it alone and seeing that there was a love there and recognizing it, and not giving up on her.”

After much convincing, Athena eventually joined the San Diego Surf Club team with Daum. After picking up Athena from practice one day, Aliki could see that dance was not Athena’s sport, nor was it softball.

“She was just sweaty and she was smiling and she was pumped,” she said. “I never saw that from her when I picked her up from dance or when I picked her up from softball. There was just something really different and special and she just sucked up anything coach Kenny said. She tried to deliver on the field. He taught her just a really good understanding of the sport. He’s been her baseline and she’s really loved him and has admired him.”

Athena said that she fondly remembers swimming in grimy indoor pools with her teammates and reading Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas during Christmas time, passing around a stocking with goodies inside every time Daum said “who.” Soccer was Athena’s first love, and it was thanks to Daum. He sat in the stands at Athena’s senior night with tears in his eyes.

For Athena, soccer is her “thing.” She knows she’s known by many as “that one soccer girl.” The sport is a way for her to connect with her closest friends, like Rachel, who she spends every lunch with either tossing a football or sitting in the trunk of somebody’s car.  Athena had even helped Rachel’s boyfriend “woo” her. 

When Rachel received the sportsmanship award at the CIF Finals, every teammate can be seen cheering in photos, but Athena is jumping up and down, shouting “Rachie!” with pure elation on her face. Their friendship has produced a trust that translates incredibly well on the field.

“The other day, I remember the ball got cleared and I literally just said “Rachel, head it wide” and it was perfect,” Athena said. “And everyone was like “danggg” because it was so good because she didn’t even like the look, she just trusted. She just trusted that I was there and she trusted that it would get to me, and it worked out.”

This bond isn’t just shared among seniors. From the moment a player joins the team, the presence swallows a player whole. Souvanaphong joined the team last year as a freshman and debated between playing high school or club soccer as a sophomore, a crucial year for college recruitment. Despite being only one of two freshmen on the varsity team, she instantly felt welcomed. 

Souvanaphong attended team dinners after victories. She played Fishbowl at a team taco night, hosted at Stogsdill’s house. She belted the National Anthem with her teammates before each game. She was a part of the presence. How could she not play another high school season this year?

“When the team isn’t doing anything after the games, it’s usually me, Leila Mariam, Kate, Rachel Athena that go to dinners together,” Souvanaphong said. “We’ve just built this little circle together. It’s just going to be me and Leila [next] year, because we were the only two freshmen last year that made it to varsity. That journey is kind of coming to an end because they’re all leaving.”

Spiess said that he and Stogsdill recognize how vital the team’s chemistry is to their success. 

“It goes beyond the friendships off the field,” Spiess said. “There’s a bond between all the girls. We have freshmen and sophomores, juniors and seniors, and they’re not all in the same friend group off the field, but they all care for each other as players and teammates. They have really good chemistry and we all work hard for each other. That is a big deal.”

On Feb. 28, at the State Championship playoffs, after an assist from Rachel, Athena scored the first and only goal of the night from the left wing at the 30-yard line with five minutes left in the first half. The Wolverine’s win, however, came at a cost. Defender Naia Conrad (10) went on concussion watch with Sealy, and Salem experienced a knee injury, benching her for the rest of the season.

Going into the State Championship semi-finals against Los Alamitos High School, which was a home game, March 2, Athena did not know what to expect, but she knew it was going to be an uphill battle.

Van Den Einde, the team’s top scorer, was once again sent to play center back to strengthen the defense.  

Like most games, but especially this one, Athena couldn’t shake her nervousness. Unlike many of her friends, such as Rachel and Sealy, Athena won’t be playing soccer in college. The D1 State Championships was her last opportunity to play on such a skilled team.

“It’s very bittersweet because I’m kind of burnt out, to be honest, but I really don’t want it to end,” she said prior to the semi-final game. “It’s my last chance to really go out with a bang [and] play well. It’s kind of like a closing for 12 years of something that’s been such a big part of my life. It’s finally coming to a close.” 

Westview was constantly on the defense, but Van Den Einde had come into her position and Souvanaphong was fighting tooth and nail to save goals. She had rarely let anything past her; she was a talented goalie. 

In the last two minutes of the game, there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that the game was destined to go into overtime. Until the clock seemed to stop and time appeared to freeze. 

Alex was stunned.

Aliki wanted to cry. 

Rachel’s heart dropped. 

Athena was heartbroken. 

Souvanaphong’s arms were outstretched as she flew towards the ball, which was speeding toward the upper left corner of the net. 

She was falling as the ball was soaring over her hand. 

She turned to see the ball in the net. She later said thought she could have tried harder. She said she could have jumped a little bit farther. She said she knew there were only two minutes left in the game. She knew the game was going to end. 

Despite a mad rush to the goal by Van Den Einde a moment later, three whistles pierced the air. 

There were tears, and in the midst of those tears, there was a heaviness in the hearts of family, of friends, and of players alike. But there was also that presence, emitting an undeniable sense of pride brighter than the LED stadium lights that shone on the girls that night. It was a round of applause as the girls broke from the last team huddle sobbing. It was the tears in Stogsdill’s eyes. It was the comforting hugs from friends and family.

“[Athena] just turned around and our eyes met,” Aliki said. “We didn’t say anything to one another. I just opened my arms. She just came in, and she just exhaled. It was probably one of the most intimate moments I’ve ever had with her. There were no words. I just held her and I could just feel her heart beating and she sank her face on top of my shoulder next to my neck.”

Athena wasn’t crying because the team had lost. She was crying because she knew this would be the end. She would never get to play with these girls again. She was never going to be coached by Stogsdill or Spiess again. High school soccer was over.

Despite this, the team rallied together once more. 

“It’s still Bella’s birthday!” Elly Van Den Einde (12) said. 

Everybody, some girls still in tears, wiped their cheeks and runny noses, and mustered a smile to sing Santos “Happy Birthday.”

There was a presence on the field of every girls soccer game, every practice, every team dinner and that presence was especially there that night: a series of individual connections that became an interconnected web. 

Rachel walked up the 40 stairs from the field that she had so excitedly sauntered down with a pep in her step when she was a young freshman. She knew she would have to let go, but she wouldn’t let go of the friendships or the memories; she couldn’t forget this team.