The Taylor women’s soccer team wrapped up their season with a loss against Bethel (IN) in the Crossroads League Tournament quarterfinals.
The hard-fought battle went into double overtime after a 1-1 tie and ended in a 5-3 shootout.
Despite the result, the Trojans intimidated the opponent with their aggressive offense. 14 of 34 shots taken by the home team were on goal, while the Pilots only took six shots, with three being on goal.
Junior forward Audrey Grimm put the Trojans on the board with a goal from the left side of the net off a deflected attempt by senior forward Chloe Sena.
On Nov. 13, the Crossroads League released its women’s soccer all-league awards. Taylor is represented by five standout players.
Senior defender Claire Massey was named First Team All-Crossroads League along with Grimm. Senior goalkeeper Hannah Brackenbury, junior midfielder Lauren Collins and freshman forward Leah McQuade were All-Crossroads League Honorable Mentions.
McQuade was also one of five Crossroads players named to the Crossroads League Newcomer Team.
The team ended their season with an overall record of 10-3-5 and a conference record of 5-2-2.
Those final moments meant more to players such as senior midfielders Emma Goebel and Caroline Monberg than it did to others.
Goebel and Monberg, along with the other seniors on the team, took in their final moments while anxiously watching the gut-wrenching shootout.
“I remember making this one pass that I’ve been making since I was a little kid… I (realized) that might (have been) the last time that I did that, right when the whistle blew, because I’m not a (penalty kick) shooter. I just remember gasping and looking at Caroline,” Goebel said.
Goebel ended her college career with a total of seven points and 42 shots, with 15 being on goal.
She shared that senior year came with a new form of intentionality because she knew it was her last season.
Monberg shared that intentionality with Goebel and their fellow seniors.
“This year was special because our class, our senior class, has worked really hard to develop the culture within ourselves, but also to lead the team really well,” Monberg said.
Monberg concluded her senior season with a career total of 10 points and 19 shots, 10 of which were on goal.
While their time on the team is over, they left words of advice for the upcoming seniors.
“Be very outspoken about the ways God is working in your life, because for the underclassmen that’s super powerful just to hear that God is at work,” Goebel said. “I would tell them to laugh as much as you possibly can and spend as much time with your team as you can, because you’re not going to have a team for the rest of your life.”
Monberg reminded the rising seniors that no one will remember stats at the end of the day, but they will remember the type of person you were.
She said that people are going to remember the way you love them, and the best way to do that is to show them the love of Christ.
“When people remember you, let them remember Christ in you because at the end of the day, that’s the thing that people do remember: how you were, how you carried yourself, how you responded to adversity,” Monberg said.
These pieces of advice stem from the life lessons Monberg and Goebel have learned throughout their time at Taylor.
Monberg said she has learned the value of playing each role on a team to one’s very best.
She said it doesn’t matter if someone is the star player, sitting on the bench or cleaning up after practice, because they are all meaningful chances to glorify God.
Goebel has learned that life is more enjoyable when one surrounds himself or herself with people who truly care.
