The Lady Bobcats continued their success with a new season

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AIR RYCHEL: Junior forward Isabella Rychel fights to get the ball from Stoneman Douglas’s offense to hinder their chances at scoring another goal. Despite the Bobcats’ strong offense and defensive plays, the game ended with a close score of 3-2. Courtesy of FoxMar Studios

By: Armani Brutus

With changes to the team structure and a desire to continue their solid record, the girls varsity team came out with another great 2022–23 season. Although the Lady Bobcats fell short in the district tournament, their solid 10-5-2 record leads them into a promising 2023-24 campaign.
The varsity team saw many changes this year, and much like their 2021–22 season, the Lady Bobcats prevailed with their season despite not winning their district tournament. Their campaign and determination to win would not come without challenges to match their desire for victory.
“There were high expectations at the beginning of the season, and midway through the year was when I had a better idea of what we were doing and where we were heading,” said head coach Fred Wilde.
The first game of the winter season ended in a 0-0 tie. The game against Fort Lauderdale High School proved difficult for the team and was the starting point of what was to come for the Lady Bobcats, but that would not stop the team from giving it their all. Their efforts showed for the next four games as they completely swept through their opponents. The second game of the season would come against South Broward, and dominated them with a blowout score of 7-0. Junior forward Isaeblla Rychel scored 3 goals and assisted getting the team another goal. The Lady Bobcats closed out their next four games with consecutive wins over Coral Springs 4-1, Goleman 3-0, and McArthur 7-1.
“The team reflected the good start into the rest of the season with confidence in each other and the play that we could do to try and beat the other teams,” said junior forward Isaeblla Rychel.
Unfortunately, the strong four-game winning streak ended against McArthur when the girls lost a tough 3-2 against Stoneman Douglas, a team ranked within the top 100 nationally. The team faced another close game against Cypress Bay but would ultimately lose 1-0, leaving the record 4-2-1.
“The losses were tough because I felt like we could have won those games this year when we have not beaten them in the years that I have been here. It was especially hard having the scores be close because we knew that we were right there in having a chance of winning, Rychel said”
The varsity team showed their resilience and closed out a five game stretch with a record of 4-0-1. Their first game in the winning streak came against Flanagan High School and ended 3-2. Senior Sarah Sedelsky led the team forward with two goals, followed by junior Isabella Rhychel with a goal and two assists. Cooper City High School would go on to win the game 1-0, with sophomore Arianna Robles scoring the goal and senior Halli Scharigner providing the assist. The next two games would be 1-0 victories over South Florida High and Coral Gables.
“We had a string of games where the score was decided by one goal. In the Flanagan game, and they are like our soccer rivals, we won 3-2, but it was a very close game. We came from behind in the last 10 minutes, and that was a very competitive and motivating game for the girls,” said Wilde. “The girls do not like to lose.”
The game that ended the winning streak came after an intense 1-1 tie against Pembroke Pines Charter. Ranking 6th in the state at the time, this was a great game to show growth within the team and among its players. The goal that would tie the game would come from Rychel, who was assisted by Sedelsky and senior Daniela Ponce.
“Pembroke Pines Charter was ranked sixth in the state, and a 1-1 tie was an outstanding tie,” said Wilde. “Pembroke Pines is a very good team, and to tie them is like winning the game, and we have never tied them before. It showed growth as a team.”
As the playoffs for regionals were rapidly approaching, the girls still had more challenges ahead of them. Their first game after the winning streak and tie against Pembroke ended in a 1-0 loss against Everglades High School. The varsity team would come back from their struggle with a win against Monarch High School. Rychel led with four goals and an assist, and not far behind, sophomore Jewel Jones contributed two goals and junior Katelyn Castellanos with one, leaving the team to finish the game 7-2 against the Knights.
“I think that the Everglades game was a big shock to our team and was like a wake up call to not go into games like those expecting to win. We have to go in ready to play to have a good result,” said Rychel.
The varsity team’s final three games of the season would be for the district tournament. The first battle of the district tournament would be with Western, and the Bobcats prevailed against them 3-2. Rychel would again shine and score all three points for the team, with sophomore Sianna McLeod assisting on those three goals. The next game would be against our rivals, the Cypress Bay Lighting. West Broward led 1-0 for the majority of the game, however, nearing the end of the game, Cypress would press back and gain the lead, leaving the score at 2-1 in the Lady Bobcat’s defeat. Palmetto defeated West Broward 2-1 in the final game of the season, effectively ending the season for West Broward.
“We were working hard the entire time and started off strong, but I think after one goal we started to put our head down a little bit and the whole moral just went down and as a team we kind of took ourselves out of the game and when we scored we started going again but it was too late at that point,” said Rychel.
The conclusion of their 2022–2023 season was an impressive 10-5-2. The varsity would not finish in districts, but the season was still a successful one either way. With new players coming in and senior players departing, there was a lot to work on for the team to perform, and it did. The girls would rest for the remainder of the school year before coming back into practice for the next season in the 2023–2024 school year.
“I thought the season was really good. It was a lot better than I expected after our preseason game but I think we worked together and as a team helped each other throughout the season,” said Rychel. “ We all were playing for each other and everyone had the drive to win.”