The Wilson Girls Soccer team completes their hard battles on January 30 to secure second place in Moore League for the 2019-20 winter season. With a season record of 10-2-0, the Lady Bruins fell just short behind the league record of Millikan (10-1-1), which cost the footballers what could have been their 23 Moore League title. 

As the winter season came nearer and the soccer season was about to begin, the roster of 25 Wilson girls knew that lots of hard work was in store in order to return with a vengeance after scoring third place as a result of the 2018-19 soccer season. 

A difficult loss from Millikan High School early in the season gave the Bruins a wake-up call informing the ladies of the work they would have to complete in order to be eligible to obtain the Moore League title. 

However, the footballers were not afraid of the challenge. Just getting started, the girls began firing away at all of the competition they came across– including Cabrillo, Lakewood, Compton, and Jordan high school. The soccer girls even managed to beat out long-time rival Poly High School, and for the majority of the season, were neck and neck with Millikan in the race for the championship. 

After defeating Millikan during the second round of the league, it was now up to the Wilson girls soccer program to succeed in their next test to win the crown– the defeat of Poly High School. 

The rivalry between the two schools left the game on January 30 up to anyone’s taking. Located at Wilson High, the home territory was inspirational to the Lady Bruins– yet terrifying. With hundreds of people in the stands and the Moore League title on the line, the girls were tense in the first minutes of the game. 

As described by senior captain Kristin Berry, “we came out with a lot of energy, maybe even too much, but we settled down, played our game, and got in rhythm.”

With neither team starting out extraordinarily strong on the ball, it was up to one of the teams to rise up and take the first shot at the win. 

Poly scored early on in the game with a goal by senior Aniah Cutler to put Poly up 0-1. However, with a foul by Poly in the 18-yard box earning Wilson a penalty kick, goal by sophomore Kade Mendoza kept the Bruins even at 1-1. 

The halftime alert rang, and both sets of girls were ready for their mid-game pep talk. All the Bruins needed was a win to secure the Moore League title. But, with Poly’s intensity and towering attacking line, the ladies knew this wasn’t going to be easy. 

Early in the second half, Kristen Berry redirected a cross from Emma Shiffer into the back of the net, putting Wilson ahead of Poly 2-1. However, there were still 36 minutes left in the game, and the girls on the field still had lots to do to secure their place as Moore League champions. 

This Wilson lead did not last long however, when Cutler again found the back of the net in the 61 minute. At a score of 2-2, the rest of the game was a footrace, and with all of the soccer players entirely exhausted, it was anyone’s game. 

In the 79th minute, all the Wilson girls needed was to secure their tieing score to share the Moore League title with Millikan. The work was nearly over. 

However, with a goal by Cutler in the last remaining seconds of the game, the Bruins were stripped of their championship, finalizing the game with a 2-3 finish, placing Millikan at the top of the scoreboard and Wilson in second place. 

Tears were shed, and especially on senior night, this was not the outcome the ladies and coaches had hoped for. However, the Wilson tradition of cake and apple cider after an evening of celebrating the senior class was able to put a smile on all of the girl’s faces, no matter how disappointing the outcome of the game came to be. 

Next season, the Bruins plan to come out strong to claim the 2020 Moore League title, head straight into the CIF championship, and reclaim their place as a top tier team in Southern California.