The Millbrook Women’s Soccer team has been a force to be reckoned with in the past few seasons, but after losing some of their biggest players to college the past year, how did they fare this season? In the midst of multiple injuries and a typically junior and senior oriented team, the Lady Wildcats have been wildly successful with what most consider to be a very young Varsity team. The girls are even a top contender in this years 4A Cap 7 Conference rankings with 10 of the 22 players on the roster being underclassmen. This is an impressive feat, as the conference which the women’s team competes in is extremely competitive. Although this competitiveness is present in many sports at Millbrook, it especially pertains to the Millbrook Women’s Soccer team, as there are many highly skilled players across Wake County high schools.

 Returning player and team captain, senior Sophie Walsh has been a member of the Millbrook soccer program for the past four years. She has witnessed an ever-changing team atmosphere and dynamic year by year. Walsh voiced that “over the years it’s just been interesting to see how we seemed really young my freshman and sophomore years because we didn’t have any seniors,” and that in her junior year, “we had a lot of seniors, so adapting to losing a lot of our starters has been somewhat difficult, but the underclassmen have really stepped up to the pressure and done well.” In fact, they did very well, tallying up few losses in conference matches.

 More importantly than wins or losses on the field, however, the women’s soccer team ensures that they are always accepting and supportive of each other. This was evidenced by the recent experience that senior goalie Caroline Lewis underwent. Described by her teammates, the event was traumatizing, as Lewis faced a collision to her head and suffered four skull fractures, along with brain bleeding. This was revealed when Caroline was rushed to the hospital by paramedics, eventually being placed in the ICU. Doctors consider her lucky to have recovered the way she has so far. Lewis was released from the hospital just four days after sustaining her brain injury, and came back to school soon after. The team has rallied behind her in support, combining their efforts with those of other schools in the area ultimately earning almost nine thousand dollars to support the Lewis family. This environment of support is what characterizes the women’s team, which is clear to incoming freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors alike.

 One of the three freshmen who made the team, Nina Wilson, revealed, “Coming into the season I was kind of nervous because I didn’t think anyone would like me, but everyone on the team has a great attitude and is super nice.” Along with her praises for the team’s spirit, Nina also exclaimed, “If we all work together and keep trying to improve and stay motivated, I think that we can get very far in the playoffs,” while further accolading her teammates by stating that they were amazing players. This shows through the team’s successes, and especially through their high standing in the number of goals scored against other high schools in the Cap 7 Conference. Nina’s hopes of making it far in the playoffs are echoed by teammate Sophie Walsh, who expressed that she felt the team was “playing really well,” and that she was “excited to continue to see what this team will do.”