Fresh off of their thrilling sectional defeat of Highland in penalty kicks, the Girls Varsity Soccer team fought their way to the first round of Regionals, coming in more confident than they had the whole season.

“We came off that game with a stronger belief in ourselves as a team and saw our potential going into Regionals. We were not cocky whatsoever, just confident that we had the talent to make it through,” Megan Bereda (12) said.

But their conviction was not enough to pull out a win against DAC rival Valparaiso. The game, evenly matched for both teams, took a turn for the worst for the Lady Indians when Valparaiso was able to find the back of the net in the second half.

“We were scared after they scored. It kind of broke down, and we couldn’t get it together again,” Captain Lauren Doreksi (11) said.

The 0-1 loss brought an early end to the Girls season, which went 14-6-0 in the year.

And for 12 seniors, the loss was a bittersweet good-bye to four years of hard work and dedication to their team.

“It has definitely been a learning experience, and it was worth it 110%. All the sweat, tears, arguing and drama- it was all worth it,” Jane Gates (12) said.