From May 2009:
This year was a landmark season for the Chamblee girls’ soccer team in many ways. In addition to having one of the youngest varsity teams in the school and suffering only one loss in the regular season, the team managed to make it all the way to the state tournament, a first in Chamblee’s girl soccer team history.
Led by senior captions Jessica Pringle and Sabrina Kuhn, the young ladies handled the season with finesse and skill from the very beginning. The team faced many tough teams early on in the season but took the competition in stride. These early victories against Stone Mountain, North Springs, and Dunwoody among others helped to kick-start the season and boosted morale.
“We won a lot, which helped us bond,” said junior Alex Parvin-Asher on their early successes. “Nothing brings a team together faster than really kicking some butt on the field!”
While the momentum of a strong start helped to raise the girls’ level of play, it is not the sole reason behind this historic season. The factor that really distinguished the girls this year from teams past was the strong base provided by the many talented sophomores and freshmen.
“I think what made it such a good season was that we had such a fresh team,” said Parvin-Asher. ”In past years we’ve done relatively well, but this year we had a lot of young players come up and take us to a completely different level of play.”
Junior Camille Johnson agreed, citing the attitude of these younger players as a determining factor in Chamblee’s success.
“[The team] was sort of clique last year,” said Johnson. “But the underclassmen this year really wanted to win and everyone meshed well together.”
“Two of our up-and-comers, Lydia Morrow and Mary Lou Ferguson, helped keep the younger girls in check and proved themselves to be absolutely phenomenal athletes,” said Parvin-Asher.
Most high school teams can rally around their seniors for leadership and inspiration, but what really sets these young ladies apart is the fact that leaders are stepping up from very early on, providing a more balanced team dynamic and plenty of potential for the future.
This winning recipe of discipline, youth, and attitude is what brought Chamblee to the first round of the state tournament, where they faced off against Northgate, ranked fourth in the state. This playoff match was close, and the girls felt that they were fairly evenly matched.
Although they went in strong, Chamblee had offensive trouble, which cost them the game. With a final score of 1-0, Chamblee was out of their first-ever state tournament.
“It was a little bit of a downer to be one and done out for the first time in the playoffs,” said Parvin-Asher. “But I really can’t complain because anytime you do something that has been done before is a cause for celebration.”
Now the team turns its thoughts towards next year, when Parvin-Asher, Johnson, and Tyler Wilson will be among the seniors who will lead the team. With such a deep pool of talent returning it seems the team will have time to perfect their winning recipe and try to set the bar even higher.