On Nov. 10, after 53 minutes of play, the Sidwell Girls Varsity Soccer Team claimed the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) championship against Georgetown Day School (GDS). After coming back from behind to finish the match 3-2, the Quakers clinched their third state title in the program’s history and their first since 2021.
Originally scheduled for Nov. 9, the girls played the majority of the final’s first half before the match was postponed due to lightning in the area. The score was tied at 1 after an early header from sophomore Emery Stover for the Quakers and an equalizer from GDS in the 22nd minute.
Upon resumption, GDS took the lead early from a free-kick but the Quakers responded with a cross that resulted in a Hoppers own goal. In the 65th minute, an assist from senior Zuri Johnson to sophomore Maggie Kendall proved to be the game-winning goal.
For her contributions throughout the tournament, Johnson was named the DCSAA Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. After the game, Johnson told the Washington Post how the Quakers’ final run was “kind of like a revenge tour for us.”
“Now we know what it’s like to be on the winning side, but we also know what it’s like to not have that, and we just didn’t want that feeling again.”
The year prior, Sidwell had lost 0-1 in an heartbreaking DCSAA final against St. Johns College High School. When matched against the Cadets in the 2025 semifinal round, the Quakers decisively settled the score, winning the bout 3-0.
“[Winning the semifinal] meant everything to them,” Head Coach Ryan Alexander said to the Post. “These girls have talked about that tough defeat to St. John’s all year, and going into the semifinal [this year] against St. John’s, they were hyper-motivated to rectify that game.”
The DCSAA marked the end of a highly successful season for the Sidwell Girls Soccer Program, where the Quakers finished with a 13-4-1 record and won the regular season Independent School League (ISL) conference championship — their eighth overall and first since 2021. These two banners ended a three-year championship drought.
The Quakers also finished runner-up in the ISL tournament, falling to the Potomac School in the final.
Sidwell Girls Tennis also had a successful season, winning their sixth consecutive ISL tournament on Oct. 29. Coach Logan West has been recognized by the Racquet Sports Professional Association as the Laurie Martin High School Coach of the Year, and led the athletes to a 5-2 victory against Georgetown Visitation in the ISL AA Conference Tournament.
In a statement to SFS Quakers, West stated, “The resilience our girls have displayed this season to achieve their goals has been a joy to witness. I am extremely proud to be their coach.”
Girls tennis closed out the season not only with a banner, but also with an overall 12-1 record, undefeated in the ISL AA league.
Reflecting on the team’s success, Senior Captain Sophie Haar said, “As one of the team captains, [tennis] has given me a really great opportunity to see how much each person has grown and how amazing they are. We wouldn’t be able to [be successful] without the support of one another, but we’ve also had great coaching.”
The season did not come without challenges. An early 4-5 loss against Collegiate School threatened to hinder the girls’ performance, however, they quickly moved past this to win the next 10 games largely due to positive team culture, according to Haar. Though the championship game “was one of our toughest matches because Visitation put up a fight,” Haar believes that Sidwell Friends players were “able to come out on top not only because we are skilled at tennis but we also support each other like a family.”
