The girls soccer season ended after the team defeated Flower Mound 3-1 in its final game of the season. The Hawks failed to make the playoffs for the second time in the program’s history, finishing in fifth place in the district.
“We knew we were better than what we were putting out there,” head coach Robert Vaughn said. “We were on the cusp, but we just had to keep getting better. We focused on getting people healthy and getting everybody back to normal. Once we did that, we went 6-1 [in the second half] which, in this district, is pretty good.”
The team finished the season with a 13-5 overall record and a 9-5 record in district play. The team started the season 4-0, but dealt with injuries heading into district play and went 0-3 to start the district season.
“No matter if we lost or if we were in a bad situation, we were always there to pick each other up,” defender Mel Garpa said. “We were in the mentality of, ‘We’re going to do good no matter what the situation is. We’re going to fight through anything we have going on.’”
With the new district realignments this season, five teams, including Hebron, finished the season ranking in the top 20 of the state.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this season,” forward Jordan Hill said. “We realized that we can’t dwell on the past and we have to push forward. Family is the biggest thing that’s going to keep people together, and we had a really strong family this season.”
This season, there was an emphasis on the culture of the team, as they were learning to be more comfortable with each other and building the team’s family culture. Hill said the ups and down of the year showed the team the importance of building each other up and remaining positive.
“Learning that not always winning is OK creates a lot of growth,” Hill said. “[We grew] as a team and [realized] that not everything is going to be picture perfect. [We realized] that we have to be strong with each other and be a team. I’m extremely proud of the girls and what we’ve done this season. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
The team will lose eight seniors and Hill heading into next season, as Hill plans on graduating early, but she said she and the seniors believe the team is in good hands. Vaughn said that though the year didn’t go how the team wanted, he still views it as a successful season that showed the promising future the team has.
“[What I’m most proud of] is the people they are,” Vaughn said. “I’m proud of the people they’ll turn out to be, their character [and] what they [have] learned here. It was a team that loved each other [through the ups and downs] — we made it.”
