In the immediate aftermath of the season-ending 4-1 loss for the Wright City girls’ soccer team to Sullivan at Borgia on Friday, two emotions came to the forefront.
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In the immediate aftermath of the season-ending 4-1 loss for the Wright City girls’ soccer team to Sullivan at Borgia on Friday, two emotions came to the forefront.
Sure, there was the expected sadness that spread throughout the Wildcats’ ranks, but there was also plenty of gratitude expressed by all involved.
The gratitude for the team making history on two fronts – the 18-6 record set the program record for most wins in a single season, and Wright City’s district quarterfinal win over Mexico marked the first postseason win since 2019.
Fighting back her emotions, freshman forward Haley Elsenrath spoke to the mixed feelings of sadness tinged with pride.
“It’s definitely sad that it’s over, but I couldn’t have asked for a better team,” Elsenrath said. “We all worked so hard to get here. I am going to miss the seniors so much, though.”
In the 12th minute, Elsenrath even put Wright into the lead.
Her free kick bounded over the Sullivan keeper and rolled into the net past the outstretched foot of an Eagles defender, who desperately tried to knock the ball off the goal line.
“I was shocked that it went in,” Elsenrath said. “I was just hoping someone would get a touch. It going in made it even better.”
The goal was Elsenrath’s 38th of the season, which put her into the top five on the area scoring list as her 22 assists gave her 98 total points. It was one of the team’s final on-field highlights of the season as Sullivan scored three goals late in the first half and added one in the second to earn the win.
“The girls have so much to be proud of; we exceeded expectations,” Wildcats’ Coach Tori Harris said. “We, literally, had no goalie, and we didn’t know who was going to be our goal scorer, and girls stepped up. This is such a great group of girls. I love working with them; they have the best attitudes. They work hard, they work together, they are a family. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
The goalkeeper who stepped in and stepped up for the Wildcats this season was junior Marli Burkhardt.
Burkhardt earned 17 wins and owned a .79 goals against average for Wright City.
In addition to Elsenrath’s effort, junior Ada Ferrell also stepped into the goal-scoring role for the Wildcats.
She scored 26 goals and added 11 assists.
Like Elsenrath, Ferrell said that everything this season started with the team’s leadership. While she and her freshman running mate propelled the offense, it was the team’s seniors – Norma Diego, Audrina Graves, McKinley Kuenkel, Sandy Lopez-Luna, Kaitlyn Mikus, Calle Reimers, Lexcee Scurlock and Addie Ward – who provided valued leadership.
“We all played our hardest, and I just love my seniors,” Ferrell said. “It’s sad because we all connected on another level. Last year, we were friends, but this year we were a family. This season will be a memory I will cherish forever. Just playing with this group of girls, win or lose, will be one of the best memories I’ll have.”
