With their loss last week to Los Altos, the girls soccer team closed out their 2023 season.

Their final record was 4-13-1, with their single tie being with Hillsdale on December 10. In league games, they had a record of 3-7, placing 6th in the De Anza SCVAL League.

This season began with a rough start, as four of the team’s seven seniors were unable to play in the season because of a technicality in the SCVAL rules. These seniors remained devoted to the team, attending all the practices and games to help their teammates get better and support them from the bench. Still, they were not allowed to play in games, and this was an emotional blow to the team, and the seniors in particular.

Senior Kath Stein commented on the difficulty of missing her senior season.

“You are always looking forward to being a senior, and the thing that we’ve been looking forward to for four years is like taken away from us for this one little thing that doesn’t affect anybody,” Stein said. “It just really sucks and is really sad.”

The ineligible seniors still stayed devoted to the team, being honored on senior night. With their help from the bench, the team banded together to finish the season with a positive attitude.

After the loss of these seniors, the JV and Varsity teams combined, so there was only one girls soccer team this year. The controversy of the SCVAL rules also resulted in the original Paly coach being unable to continue the season, and a new coach stepped up to help the girls finish out their season strong.

While the season was difficult, junior Alessandra Chandler was proud of their performance.

“I think we definitely had some challenges this season but overall I think we pushed through together,” Chandler said.

The team is looking forward to their next season, beginning next winter.