Who’s your biggest motivator?

Aoife Boulter: My biggest motivator is my teammates. Because they push me to be the best person I can be. I feel very motivated to work hard for them when I don’t feel motivated to work for myself.

Ava Bell:My mom, because she pushes me to be the best person I can be on and off the field. She is super strong. She’s always been there for me and she supports me through everything.

Claire Loria:My dad, he texts me before every game and talks me out of my own head, he’s always supported me and my sports.

What drives you to work hard for your team?

CL:Knowing that I won’t be able to play with my teammates after this year and that I’ve known the people I play with for many years, and after this year I won’t be able to play with them again. I just want to take advantage of the time that we have left.

Maclayne Menzel: Our senior class is so amazing, we all love each other, so playing for all of them is something that drives me.

A. Boulter: My biggest drive has always come from being apart of the team. I try and get better as a player so it helps the team as a whole. We lose as a team and we win as a team.

What are you excited about for the season?

A. Boulter: I’m excited to build connections with our team while we’re on the field and off. We’ve got some fun stuff planned, like team dinners. City High women’s soccer team dinners are the best.

Kaitlyn Brown: I’m also very excited for team dinners. We go to people’s houses and will often do Easter egg hunts with our coach and play games.

MM: I’m excited to have a good time. I love all of our seniors and just getting to play with them for this last year is exciting.

What are your expectations for yourself for this season?

A. Bell: I expect that when I can’t give 100% physically, I have to give 100% mentally. I want to be there for my teammates on and off the field when they need me, and in general, I’m just trying to be the best leader I can be.

MM: I want to beat West.

KB: I expect myself to show up every day for the rest of my team, you know, because we all have bad days and sometimes I’m not great at hiding my bad days when I go to soccer practice. So I think keeping my mindset high and keeping the expectations for myself high so that I can have those expectations for the team.

What will you miss the most about playing for City?

CL: Being able to play with the same people I’ve been playing with for years on end. We’ve all been playing with each other since we were little and we built this good environment together.

KB: The thing I’m gonna miss the most about the team is probably the seniors. We’ve grown up through clubs together. I’m also going to miss my coach who has a farm and two pigs. I’m going to miss hearing about her pigs and her vegetables every day. The thing I’m going to miss the most is being a role model for younger players because I think that’s one of the biggest advantages of being like an upperclassman and a senior this year is that I get to see my impact on other younger players.

A. Bell: The people. I’ve been playing with them almost my entire life. Also, the environment at City High. It’s much different than a club. We’re able to have fun and not be as stressed. High school soccer season is the best part of playing year-round, it brings the passion back and when you start to lose interest it brings it right back up. It also helps build confidence.