As fall approaches, tryouts for winter sports have already begun, specifically girls soccer. Girls soccer is hosting tryouts Monday, September 25 to Wednesday, September 27, and resuming the following week on Monday 10/2 to Tuesday 10/3. These tryouts will be after school from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m. with an exception of Wednesday, September 27 and Tuesday, October 3 where they will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.. Tryouts will be located on the grass field all days except for Tuesday, October 3 where they will be held in the stadium.

The roster for all three teams, frosh, junior varsity, and varsity, will be released on Wednesday, October 4 on the Ayala Women’s Soccer Instagram page, and there will be a mandatory team meeting the following day. With a large number of girls trying out, these roster spots will be difficult to come by, and force the coaches to make tough decisions. It is reported that last year the coaches spent over 15 hours deliberating and carefully selecting rosters. They spend various hours reviewing every player and their strengths and weaknesses. This is ultimately how they select who fills the roster spots. 

“We look first and foremost for a great person because we believe if a person is great, we can make a great player… we want somebody that loves the game, loves the team, has a great attitude, great energy, team first,” Coach Gabe Ortiz said, the head coach of girls soccer.

The girls trying out for a position on any one of these roster have spent a vast amount of time practicing and preparing for these tryouts. Some of them have been playing for most of their life and would be heartbroken if all their hard work had gone unnoticed. However, they are staying positive and hopeful that they will make one of these teams. 

“I’ve been playing since I was nine years old. So unlike other girls, I’ve kind of been playing late, but I have been practicing hard and hope to make a team,” Izel Barradas (9) said. “I want to be able to play on the team with my friends to further develop my skills and just like to improve.”

For others, making a team would simply be a step into getting more involved with the school and its various activities. Being on any one of these teams would not only improve your skills and abilities within soccer, but it could also strengthen your relations with others and connections with the school. 

“I want to have a good time with the school and like get involved with sports and I’m really passionate about soccer,” Vyolet Munoz-Kennedy (9) said. 

Last year, the Varsity Girls Soccer team made it to the third round of playoffs in CIF. This was a huge achievement for this team because this was the first time they made it to the playoffs in the last three years. Even then, they only made it through the first round. This year, they intend to extend their record by winning league, then CIF, and later going on to win state. Winning these three titles are the main goal this team has for this year, and basically the most important goal. 

“Win league, win CIF, win state,” Ortiz said.