People would never realize how close some of the girls’ soccer team is.
South High School Security Guard Johan Centeno is the head coach for the JV team, and Impact soccer director Arturo Ochoa is the head coach of the varsity team for girls’ soccer. Sophomore Noeli Monarrez and junior Emily Trujillo are some of the girls who have become close to each other from the soccer team.
Centeno said that he thought his team did great. “The main part of girls’ soccer is improvement, and I think the girls did improve. They started trusting each other, communicating better, and we figured out how to be better people on and off the field.”
He also said that he will continue doing what he’s doing as far as coaching, and if they’re doing the right thing, they’ll keep listening to him and each other. Centeno said that he also wants to see the girls’ academics stay strong. Ochoa thought his team did as they were expected and that he definitely wants to see some improvement.
Both coaches and soccer players said they are really excited for the upcoming season. Centeno is looking forward to seeing how much the summer, fall, and hopefully winter conditioning has helped his team and how they can implement what they’ve been working on into their skill set when the spring season starts. While Ochoa is hoping to work on the girls’ foot work and the growth of it, he would also like to see a reserve team.
Centeno said he loves every memory with his team because “I have the best group of girls, and they make my life easier.” He said his favorite game was the Bellevue East game because “it showed how much communication we’ve done and how much better we’ve gotten as a team and how close to finding out the feeling to winning even though we lost.”
Ochoa didn’t have a favorite memory, but he said he really enjoyed the girls’ bond as a group. A particular game that he enjoyed was against Papillion La Vista South because they tied, went to overtime, and lost in penalties.
Monarrez said she really enjoyed the scrimmages they had against each other. She also enjoyed her last game of the season because “it was a bittersweet moment but a memory I enjoy.”
Another memorable moment for Trujillo was the senior night against Bellevue East. She said she also enjoyed that after the game, they all went out to dinner.
