The GFS varsity girls soccer team.

Varsity girls soccer had quite a solid season wrap-up as they defeated three tough competitors (Springside Chestnut Hill, Abington Friends School, George School) and ended their season as Quaker Cup Champions under the guidance of first-year coach Cailin DiGiacomo.

"Winning three games in a row to end our season was a huge accomplishment," said Cailin. "Finishing this year with a record of 7-7-1, as well as winning the Quaker Cup, really gives these players and this program the momentum to come back next year even stronger. Our three seniors, Hannah Hanson, Lila Sternberg-Sher and Lilly Dupuis, are a huge part of the reason why we were so successful. Their leadership, work ethic and competitive spirit really pushed us to accomplish our goals towards the end of our season."

As the season was winding down and game time was right around the corner, things were beginning to look up for the team. Cailin spoke of the team's increased momentum going into the SCH game: "With Portia McKoy in a new field position and most of our injured players returning to the pitch, we were really able to finish our year strong. Portia scored late in the second half, off an assist from one of our captains, Riley Knowles '18. Beating an Inter-Ac team as well as one of the top teams in our area was a huge win for us, and really boosted our spirits. It gave us the momentum we needed heading into the Quaker Cup."

Next up for GFS was their last home game of the season for the Quaker Cup Semifinals vs. AFS, which concluded in a 5-0 victory. "The score was 1-0 at halftime, with a goal scored by Jillian Yum '20, her first of the season. The second half went really well for us. Sophy Henisz '19, our starting center back, scored her second goal of the season off of a penalty kick. Gigi Guida '19 netted a goal as well as Portia, who added two more later in the half. Finishing our last home game of the season with a win was great for the girls and made us excited to take on George School for the Quaker Cup Championship the following day," said Cailin.

There was no doubt that GFS wanted to apply all of their hard work throughout the season into their final game of the year.

"The Quaker Cup championship was hosted by George School, who we lost to earlier in the season, 2-1," Cailin recalled. "We were determined to work together as a team for a win! The score was tied 1-1 at the half, with Gigi scoring early in the first half with an assist from Jillian. Second half, the girls really gave everything they had and left everything on the field. We went up early 3-1 in the second half, with two goals from Portia. Portia ended the season with 11 goals. The final score was 3-2, and this victory gave us the Quaker Cup."

Center-mid Maya Keren '18 may have been out due to injury, but she knew her team would pull through to finish strong. Maya said, "I was really proud of our season. We struggled at the beginning to rid ourselves of the negative mentality and strive for the positive, but by the end (through lots of fitness and pep talks), we were a well-oiled machine. We all knew that we had the ability as a team to win the Quaker Cup. It was just a matter of delivering to the fullest of our potential, which we did."