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Warriors upgrade from last season

Dec 11, 2018 11:05AM ● By Greg James

The 2018 Taylorsville High School girls soccer team won two of their first three games this season. (photo courtesy of Taylorsville soccer)

By Greg James |  [email protected] 

If you could win every game, would you?

Many athletes would probably say yes. After all, winning feels good, but winning is not the most thing young athletes can experience. Losing can provide lessons that winning cannot. 

“Our team has always been about family first, school second and soccer third,” Taylorsville girls head coach George Sirstins said at the end of the boys season this spring.

Continuing to demand excellence from his team has been the focus all season.

The girls won more games than they have in the last four years. Their preseason schedule included wins in two of their first three games.

They grabbed their first victory of the season over Cyprus 4-1. The Warriors trailed at halftime by one, but they did not give up. Gabby Hernandez netted a hat-trick (three goals) in the second half. The barrage of goals lifted them to the victory.

They carried that momentum into the second game of the year by defeating Kearns 2-0. Hernandez had another goal, and goalkeeper Amy Chung notched her first shutout of the season. They also shut out Granger 2-0 later on in the season.

Despite the early season success, the Warriors finished the season with a 3-12 overall record. That was not good enough to qualify for the state tournament, but they did gain experience for the future.

Hernandez was the team’s leading scorer with five goals. Karina Caratachea, Adriana Perdomo, Brinley Record and Kennedy Siddoway each scored single goals for the Warriors. 

Sure, losing does not feel great, but losing does build character. According to a 2016 Washington Post study, dealing with a loss is one of the most important lessons young athletes can learn. Losing a game isn’t the only time players will face defeat. How they respond says a lot about them as an athlete and a person. According to the study, losing can bond the team as a unit and help them manage frustration, doubt and give them perspective.

Losing forces young athletes to evaluate themselves. The only way to make adjustments and improve performance is by fixing what doesn’t work. 

Sirstins hopes the team will continue to support each other and next year try again. 

The Warriors competed in Class 6A Region 3. They placed fifth behind West Jordan, Herriman, Copper Hills and Riverton.