Two weeks ago, on September 24th, the Damascus Girls Soccer team had a historical win against Magruder, outscoring them 2-1 in their home game. Recently, the Girls Soccer team also fought for a huge win against Seneca Valley on October 10th. Again, winning 2-1 in overtime. But what’s their big secret to these historical wins?
Coach Hall said it was the first time Damascus has beat Magruder in his time coaching here. When asked about the nerves going into the Magruder game Coach Hall said, “going into the game we knew it was a winnable game. We were energetic and excited.” He said that one of the biggest helps are his team captains Noelle Kuskie (12), Lauren Ibache (12), and Evie Hunkler (12). “These girls are essential to the team. They help with practice plans and are amazing role models for what the work ethic should be like.” Hall is extremely proud of these girls and how far they’ve come this year. He said this game will be used to keep their spirits up and hopefully produce a win against Clarksburg. Coach Hall also attests to the fact that all of their team bonding dinners help build friendships off the field to increase trust on the field.
Evie Hunkeler (12), an outside defender has been playing with the Damascus soccer program since she was a freshman, and has played soccer since she was 12. Going into the game, Hunkeler admits she was nervous, as Magruder is one of their toughest opponents of the season. However, within the first few minutes of the game, the team was fouled, resulting in a penalty kick, resulting in Damascus taking the lead 1-0 early on. Throughout this game Hunkeler maintains her “up

beat attitude,” and supports her teammates regardless of the score, or what’s going on in the game. Hunkeler notes that her fellow captains, Lauren Ibacache and Noelle Kuskie “are amazing leaders and I’m [she’s] so lucky to be able to help lead the team with them.” To support her teammates when they’re down, Hunkeler encourages her teammates and compliments them on their successes. Overall, Hunkeler is a team player, and supporting her teammates is one of her many strengths as a soccer player on the Girls Varsity Soccer team here at Damascus. Aside from her amazing leadership skills, Hunkeler scored the winning goal against Magruder with one minute and 30 seconds left in the game. From another penalty kick, Mckayla Luc (11), passed her the ball, and Hunkeler shot and scored! Prior to this, the team had not beat Magruder since 2019, so “this win meant a lot to me [Evie] because it was our first win of the season… all of the adrenaline rushed and made it a super exciting win!”
Mckayla Luc (11), an integral defensive mid player for the school team, has been playing soccer for 13 years. Every year going into the Magruder game she is nervous knowing that she will be competing against her club teammates. Luc said, “Having family and friends there calms my nerves because they offer comfort and support.” During the game she helped by assisting the winning goal. She says this year a big help has been her captains. “They make it serious. They are very assertive and make sure things get

done.” When asked about the role she thinks team bonding has on the team Luc said, “I think it helps build chemistry, we’re more relaxed and it’s more like a big friendship than a team. We make TikToks together, post on Instagram, have dinners, watch movies, and gossip! It’s so much more relaxed and fun which makes us more vocal to each other on the field.” She believes it leads to better feedback on technique and skills during games. She thinks these big wins will help the team motivate themselves to push even harder every game. She believes this will be a record season for the Lady Hornets. “Come out to games!” Luc states!
As an integral part of her team, Lauren Ibache (12) believes her role as a team captain is to empower and energize her teammates. She is also a defensive mid and has been playing for 13 years. Ibache says she loves to be the hype girl and a mediator, “It’s important that we don’t get mad at each other on the field. We play better when we aren’t upset.” The word she used to describe Magruder’s Girls Soccer team is well conditioned. Ibache says she wants this win to help set the tone for the rest of the season. She says that trusting and supporting your teammates in tough games is the most important thing you can do. Ibache claims the best way to become a powerhouse team is to spend more time together off the field. Her favorite activity is spending time with her teammates after games going to Crumbl or Wingstop and just talking about how they thought they did. “It really is more important than most people think. It helps you trust your teammates more when you know them as a person,” says Ibache. “It also just helps us relax.” A large struggle seen across all girls sports, not just soccer, is the support. Not many people come out to support our girls teams even though they are having record breaking seasons like this one right here. At the end Ibache signed off with this statement, “Come out and support Girls Soccer when you can. Knowing we’re supported gets us hyped!”
Between team bonding, captains, and tough coaching the Lady Hornets have a shot at a historical season this year. Catch a game some time, and as Coach Hall would say, “Go Hornets!”