As the defending DCSAA state champion, Sidwell Girls’ Varsity Soccer has a target on its back coming into the 2022 season. With the fall season beginning, the team has its  sights set on another championship.

The team is coached by head coach Ryan Alexander, who has been at Sidwell since 2012, assistant coach Natalie Williston, who started with the team in 2018, and Aubrey Whittier, a new addition to the coaching staff. All three coaches played at the collegiate level — Alexander at Wake Forest and Michigan, Williston at Howard and Whittier at Ursinus — and are ready to bring their expertise to the field this year.

Over the past five years, Girls’ Soccer has found success in its leagues, taking home banner after banner. The team won DCSAA and ISL titles in 2018, and made it to the finals in 2019, where they took a heartbreaking penalty-kick loss to St. John’s. Although the soccer team hoped to reclaim its top spot during the 2020 season, the pandemic prevented this from occurring.

Finally back on the field for the 2021 season, the team achieved great success. After beating St. John’s in the DCSAA semi-finals 2-1, Girls’ Soccer trounced Maret in the finals with a 6-0 win to take the championship.

“It’s a winning team, which is a very exciting environment to be a part of,” senior Laila Kostorowski said.

“The games can get very intense, which is something that’s tremendously fun,” sophomore Gabi Green added.

Throughout the summer, the program held practices to prepare for their two-week preseason, which started on Aug. 22.

With a new year comes a new mix of players.

“We graduated four amazing seniors, which is a very intimidating thing,” senior Ava Johnson explained.

Although their graduated teammates will be missed, the team also looked forward to welcoming its new players.

“Everyone who’s on the team next year is absolutely amazing, and I think we have a lot of potential,” Johnson said.

The players also work hard, both on and off the field, to improve their relationship as a team.

According to Kostorowski, the team is working on “creating a culture to go along with [its] really, really impressive program.”

“My favorite thing about the team is the bond,” Johnson said. “Working that hard together every day, it really brings [us] together in a way I think nothing else can.”

With their sights set on winning another state championship, the team looks forward to a successful 2022-2023 season.

“We’re excited, we’re ready,” Johnson concluded.