We had practically perfect weather for our “senior day” home game against MacDuffie. Today’s contest was our second game against this spirited all-gender team, and we were glad to welcome MacDuffie athletes to our ridiculously beautiful south division field. We also had more fans in attendance than ever before!! Thanks, especially, to Marty Lyman, former D.A. administrator and #1 home game fan. We’re glad we were able to give our fans a game worth watching, and we were happy to deliver a “W” in the end.
MacDuffie gave us a run for our money, with #5 sticking close to El Capitán (= President-Elect) Jerry Huang ’23 for most of the game. Our entire team played well (especially at the very beginning, and again at the end), but we’ll leave some details for another time. Our shoutouts today must go to our five seniors.
First, a shoutout to Elena Lu, our spirit anchor, even though she could not be present at today’s game. Elena has worked hard all season to get into drills, and she has even gotten up at the crack of dawn to be sure our athletes have all they need for challenging tournaments. Elena has a killer throw, and we hope she plays club in college.
Next, we must applaud Will Newton for being the ENGINE of our team. When he signed on to be our team manager, he could not have imagined how far a walk it is from the Athletic Center to our edge-of-town south-division field. Still, every day, he brought us disks, pinnies, cones, and a big old jug of water. He proved his worth best when he was absent and asked others to do his job. The team practically wilted from thirst! Will also donned a crazy costume for much of the day today, proving his terrific spirit and adding immeasurably to team dynamics.
Third is senior Jerry Yuan. We generally rely on Jerry for cutting, but he really contributed to handling today, and he also had a great performance in the cup. Jerry is also best at “T-Rex” cup defense, keeping his elbows in so he can shoot out his hands at the critical moment and create a turnover. Jerry Yuan additionally assisted two goals today and captured a third goal in the end zone.
The fourth senior we’d like to celebrate today is Anna Pikarska. Coaches call Anna “Our Secret Weapon” because she is so stealthy and effective both on offense and defense. Today, Anna took control of the offense and repeatedly set the stack. We are grateful to her for her unflagging commitment to the team
Last but not least is senior William Abou-Rjaili, lovingly referred to by his teammates as “Abou.” William executed a fierce defense today, displaying lots of hustle, and giving his all for every point. Offensively, too, when we really needed focus in the middle of the game, William assisted/delivered four of our game-winning goals. His energy and drive help define us as a team.
Thanks to all for a wonderful “senior” day. We are lucky to have such a terrific team!