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Joanna Lomeli (10) practices shooting before the game begins. Her knee was in good shape and she had no idea what would soon happen.

In the first half, MacKenzie Rainwater (12) kicked off the winning game by scoring a goal during a penalty kick. The girls played against Andrean High School at home on Sept. 26, 2019. They were determined from the start and planned to dominate throughout the game. The only thing the girls weren’t expecting was an injury to one of their starters.

“After coming off of a loss we had to get back mentally and physically take what we know we can do and put it all out on the field,” Rainwater (12) said.

Joanna Lomeli (10) was pushed by an Andrean player and hurt her knee. The player who pushed her was yellow-carded, meaning to caution players during a game for misconduct. The girls continuously forced Andrean back and kept the ball on the opposing team’s half of the field. The team finished the game with a score of 3-0 by the help of Rainwater making all three goals.

“As a player I think I played pretty well. We’ve been working on specific things at practice and I believe I did a good job of executing that out on the field,” Rainwater said.

The girls practice Monday through Thursday after school every week constantly working on improving.

“I am currently recovering from an injury. I tore two ligaments in my ankle and it was sprained but I felt I played really well that game. I tried my best to work on one of our team goals, communication, and I felt I played my part as best as I could,” Veronica Ruiz-Avila (11) said.

As Ruiz-Avila is just now getting back on the field, Lomeli is now having to recover to be back on the field for sectionals. Their team is going to have to fight hard to keep the motivation and power they have always had.

“I was very proud of our team because instead of giving up and letting our team as a whole go down the wrong path, we kept our heads high and pushed through. We worked to improve on some of the things that led to the tough loss against Valparaiso and we maintained a high morale. I think we played well but we still have work to do,” Ruiz-Avila said.

The girls Varsity soccer team’s sectionals start on Oct. 8, 2019, at East Chicago. Go support your Lady Indians!