Ladies Soccer Taking Strides To State

Under the coaching of Greg Koeller, the soccer program at St. Dominic has been well known for many years. The ladies gained their last state title in the spring of 2013 and this years’ seniors are hopeful in making that run again.

The season began with a tough loss against Duchesne, but the ladies battled hard to keep it one of only two loses, the other to Ursuline, of the year. One of those battles included redeeming themselves and defeating Duchesne 1-0 in their second meeting. The girls have faced other teams, notorious for playing hard, including Incarnate Word Academy and Visitation. The game against Visitation started with a bit of stress when the Vivettes scored early in the first half. However, the second half was controlled by St. Dominic as senior Mary Koeller and junior Mary Maloney ran the offense to score three goals and win the game.

Senior Raquel Rodriguez has played on varsity since her freshman year as a wing midfielder and is preparing for her college soccer career at Nova Southeastern University in Florida this fall. She reflects on her journey at St. Dominic and is proud of the team’s accomplishments this season.

“I think what I’ve gotten from being on varsity all four years is that I’ve been able to become a better player because I was playing at the highest level all four years. Also, I’ve been able to experience different teams all four years, one of which was a state team my freshman year. Our team connection is one of the best I’ve seen so far; it is similar to the team connection we had my freshman year when we won state. From the beginning we wanted to have good team connection and I think we have reached that goal. I don’t want to jinx anything but I’m really confident in our team and if we keep playing like we are and put our heart out in every game, I think we have a good chance to make it to state,” said Rodriguez.

This season holds many promises for these young ladies as they continue to battle on. They will be facing tough teams toward the end of the season, which will help prepare them for districts. The ladies will be facing the Borgia Knights May 2, so be sure to go out and support the team soon!