On May 22, 2025, the freshman-sophomore Jones College Prep girls soccer team won reserve champion in the city league. The game against Lane Tech was a conclusion to the entire season, and while the win was a huge achievement, there was both pride and disappointment among the team. 

“When the game ended and we heard the whistle, I was pretty bummed out,” said Seleen Carvajal, ‘27. 

This was a feeling shared by many players as they reflected on the game as a whole. 

“I was kind of disappointed, because in the first five minutes we almost scored, and we all got really excited, but too confident,” said Brielle Peralta, ‘27. 

But despite the frustrating end to the season, the rest of it as a whole was impressive for them. 

“We won all our games leading up to the final game, which had me and my team pumped,” said Carvajal. 

There were many accomplishments and strengths throughout the team, particularly goalkeeping. 

“We hadn’t gotten scored on for 10 games,” said Peralta. “We were so used to winning, so we had a lot of motivation.” 

For each player, motivation was a key part of their success and playing, but different for everyone. 

“This year was my first ever soccer season, so when I saw our team winning our games, I kept practicing, knowing that we could possibly win,” said Carvajal. 

Many players found this as an opportunity to start something new, which only added to their motivation. 

“This was kind of an extra added activity for me, but I ended up really liking it and my parents wanted me to do it too. So the fact that I was able to score two goals and get a scholarship made me want to keep going,” said Peralta. 

Motivation came from both on the field, and off the field as well. 

“Our teammates were really nice and supportive, and they cheered us on whether we were on for five minutes or the whole game,” said Peralta. 

Along with teammates, coaches were also a source of confidence for the team members. 

“When we were practicing, our coach kept giving us support and tips of what we needed to improve on,” said Carvajal. 

The team dealt with various challenges throughout the season- particularly regarding services. 

“We just struggled because a bunch of schools had access to weight training and winter training, so a lot of us weren’t in shape and people outran us in games,” said Peralta. 

Services provided for the season was not the only problem, but also relied on the strategies of the players. 

“We definitely need practice on communication. We would sometimes barely pass the ball around to our teammates, so that’s what our coach was trying to work on,” said Carvajal. 

But in the end, these challenges were overcome and the team was able to learn from their time playing. 

“It taught me more skills and our coach gave us personal tips to find out our strengths and weaknesses,” said Peralta. “And it helped me because when you’re on the field, you have to predict where the person’s going to pass it to, so it helped me see things from both points of view.” 

They look forward to next year and using what they learned this season in the future. 

“It’s never too late to start. I thought it was too late, but you will get good with practice, and you’ll make a lot of friends too,” said Peralta. 

This encouragement comes from all of the players as they reflect on their own experiences. 

“I definitely wasn’t the best, but what kept me going was knowing that I could do so much better and I could still play good like my other teammates,” said Cavajal. “It’s better to do the best than to be the best.”