Spring has officially begun and so has one of A-town’s most competitive spring sports: boys and girls varsity soccer. 

Both teams are just two games into a 14-game Jefferson District season, and players are confident in their success. 

“I think this season will go really well,” junior attacking midfielder Brielle Propes said. “I think we’ll make it pretty far and hopefully [to] that state championship.” 

Propes has been playing on the girls’ varsity team since her freshman year. She’s watched the team grow and develop over the years, but this year’s team stands out to her in a different way. 

“The team is really great,” Propes said, “I think we have so much talent and skill and all the girls are so great. I think we’re going to have really good team chemistry.” 

Despite the cold week and the difficulty of working with new players, Propes said that she did well with having a good, positive energy. This rubbed off on the other players, especially freshman center defensive midfielder Lily Hight.

“I’m really excited to be surrounded by these other awesome soccer players that are going to push me to be so much better,” Hight said. 

Last year, the girls went 14-3 overall and repeated their Jefferson District title before going out in the first round of Regionals against Mills Godwin. 

Players on both the girls and boys teams are feeling like the underclassmen are going to take soccer to the next level this year, along with the seniors who have been working hard on varsity, some since their freshmen years. 

“I think our team is very strong this year. We have a lot of talent in the senior class as well as underclassmen so I think this year we’re going to be very strong and hopefully make a big push to win States,” sophomore attacking midfielder Luke Goff said. This season is Goff’s second on varsity.

In the previous season, the boys went 10-5-1 overall and lost six seniors, leaving openings for new talent on the field.

Senior striker Julien Sims believes that this year’s team is more competitive than last year. “We have a lot of younger guys, but they all seem to understand the level that we’re playing at and how serious they need to take this season,” Sims said.

Junior center back Santi Gonzalez feels like the team is more connected. “It feels more like a family compared to last year and I think you can see that on the field when it comes to how everyone works together,” Gonzalez said.

These players’ hopes are up this year for a streak of wins and hopefully a shot at states. 

“There’s a lot of talent at Albemarle,” Goff said, “We haven’t won anything in a while, so this year we’re really hoping to win States.”

Both teams have had a promising start so far this season; both teams are currently 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the District. 

You can catch the girls out on the turf with Monticello on April 13 for their next home game, and the boys against Orange County on April 16.