Joseph Till
Sports Editor
The girl’s soccer team is off to a hot start this season.They currently sit at 7-3-1 and 4-2-1 in the district (W-L-D).That record has them tied for fourth place with Taft in the district standings. A second-half push could see them challenge undefeated Clark for the district title. One of the leaders on this team who will be looking to help push that charge is starting senior goalkeeper Marissa Hernandez. Hernandez has been on varsity for four years and this will be her third year starting. She is committed to play at West Texas A&M University next year.
“I feel like our season has gone really well,” Hernandez said, “The transition from last year to this year has been smooth and I believe we will do exceptional in the playoffs.”
Hernandez has had a strong start to the season, which includes six clean sheets so far, which she credits to both her experience and teammates.
“I think what has contributed most to my strong start would be my fellow seniors around me that have supported me the last three and a half years,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez also sees different areas in which she can improve as well,
“The weakness I would like to fix throughout this season is my distribution after making a save or gathering a ball,” Hernandez said.
As for any athlete, there have been challenges and bumps in the road for Hernandez, but her teammates have helped her to push through those and be the best player she can be,
“The one challenge I have faced is self-confidence. I would get really scared to mess up and play. The only way for me to overcome that was from the support of my teammates and the environment where I felt that if I made a mistake it wasn’t the end of the world and I had more chances to prove myself,” Hernandez said.
Although Hernandez has a very important job both on the field and off it as a leader, and she recognizes the role her teammates have on the team as well,
“The biggest leaders on the team are the seniors because they personally take all the underclassmen under their wings,” Hernandez said.
On February 27, Hernandez will sign her letter of intent to play her college soccer at West Texas A&M. She detailed her recruiting experience and what eventually led her to choose to play at West Texas,
“I received a call and an invite for a campus visit and the week after that I was offered to play there.When I arrived [to the campus] I fell in love with the campus and the coaching staff as well as the current players. I spent time with them and realized I wanted to be a part of the [Buffalo] family.And shortly after the offer was made I verbally committed.”
After playing many games with plenty of different groups of teammates, Hernandez reflected on some of her favorite memories,
“My favorite memories will always be the bus rides home from a big win, being able to go to Krispy Kreme on the bus ride home after a tough loss in [the] playoffs my sophomore year and creating an everlasting memory,” Hernandez said.