The Edina Girls’ Varsity Soccer team has always been a top-ranked team in Minnesota, with their incredible record and unmatched skill. The team has made numerous appearances at the state tournament, reaching closer to a first-place title every year. In the fall of 2021, the team earned a third-place medal at the MSHSL state tournament, and in 2022, a second-place medal.
Senior Captain Isabela Engle described the team’s goal to make another appearance at the state tournament and bring home a first-place title this season. “Our hopes are to win state. It’s been a long time coming and we’ve gotten really close in the last few seasons,” Engle said. The Hornets are working extremely hard this season, pushing themselves and each other to greater limits. “We return a ton of talent from a third-place and then a second-place team so expectations are sky high,” Head Coach Katie Aafedt said.
Despite lots of returning talent, the team hopes to earn the state tournament title with a fresh lineup of new faces. This year, the Hornets are bringing lots of energy with 11 new players, four of whom are freshmen. “We’ve never taken four freshmen before, but it creates a really cool team dynamic with older people and younger people and we all get along really well. I think that it’s really gonna set us apart from past years,” Engle said.
However, despite many new additions, the team’s drive for a state title remains the same. Players are putting in the time and work to bring their game to new levels, while also supporting their teammates. “The leadership of this group stands out as they keep the intensity high and just know what it takes to succeed long term,” Aafedt said. The Hornets have raised the intensity and dedication, with hopes of reaching their end goal. Junior Elly Doscotch, who recently joined the team this fall, described her desire for the team to win a state title. “As a team, I hope that we grow more connected and improve together. This will lead us to state and hopefully, we can win a championship at The Bank,” Doscotch said.
As the season progresses, the Hornets hope to continue developing and improving with their focus set on one end goal: to win. “This season we are working to be playing up until the last day. However, we also want to be a better team at the end than at the beginning,” Aafedt said.
