Girls soccer seniors reflect on their last season

Nov 26, 2020

High school sports teams have experienced a fall season unlike any other due the pandemic. For the Dartmouth High girls soccer team, while the unprecedented season required some adjustments, it ultimately had a successful ending: a conference championship

Heading into the fall semester, there was no guarantee that the squad would be able to play a single game at Memorial Stadium.

Return they did — albeit, for a shortened schedule. Although, that did not appear to bother any of the team’s 13 seniors.

“It was definitely a different season,” co-captain Kristin Medeiros said. “But it was great to be able to play. We were very fortunate to have this — a bunch of teams around us didn’t even have a season.”

Medeiros noted that there were quite a few new rule changes for pandemic safety — including wearing masks at all times, banning headers, changing corner kicks, and remaining socially distanced on the field. According to the co-captain, it took a little bit of time to get used to the new rules.

“They were hard to get used to at first since it’s so different from typical soccer,” she said. “No heading was definitely hard on the defense.” 

Teammate Hannah Wheeldon agreed. She noted that early on, the team kept getting penalized for violating the new Covid rules, but eventually got called less as the season wrapped up.

“It did seem like [the refs] eased up as the season went on a little,” she laughed. “Either that or we finally got used to the rules.”

Head Coach Scot Boudria said he was “very proud” of the effort his girls put into what was “such a unique season for sports.” One highlight the coach was proud particularly of, he said, was that “every senior got to score” this season. 

The biggest highlight of the Covid season, all the seniors agreed, was finally beating Bridgewater-Raynham to win the Southeast Conference championship on Nov. 16.

In the team's previous two meetings this season, the Trojans had handed Dartmouth its only loss, 1-0, at B-R, and then tied the Indians 2-2 on their home field for senior night.

“I think we were happier about beating them than actually winning the conference,” Medeiros said with a smile. “We hadn’t beat them at all in our high school careers — this was some sweet revenge.” 

Of course, Wheeldon said, it was also a great feeling to go out on top.

“These last four years really went by quick,” Wheeldon said. “I feel like you don’t realize it until it’s over.”