by Jimmy Yates ‘21

Sherwood concluded their regular season on a tough stretch against top teams in the county, falling to BCC and Quince Orchard 5-0 and 4-0. The Warriors entered the playoffs as a second seed and played Northwood on Friday, October 25. Sherwood got out to an early lead, as junior Chase Bell scored within the first three minutes, followed by sophomore Casey Godfrey scoring in the seventh minute. At halftime, the score was 4-0 and it stayed that way until the final whistle was blown. 

Sherwood took their momentum from the Northwood game to Blair on Tuesday, October 29. The Warriors fell short, losing 5-0. “We just didn’t get any good shots,” said senior defender Alison Ryan. “They capitalized on most of their dangerous opportunities, and we didn’t.” Sherwood exited the playoffs the same way as last year: winning their first game after a first round bye, and then losing to Blair.

“I think that the team this year is the best since I’ve been at Sherwood,” said senior captain Eliza Averbach, reflecting on her last high school soccer season. “I’m proud of my team for lifting each other up even when things didn’t go our way and doing their best to keep a positive attitude.” Averbach said her favorite Sherwood memory was in her sophomore year when Sherwood beat Blair in PKs to advance to the next round of playoffs.

While Sherwood will be lose four seniors to graduation, they will still have 16 returning players for next year. “We will definitely miss them because they are a fantastic group of seniors. They set the standard high and held everyone accountable to their expectations,” said Coach Hope Gouterman. “The girls will be familiar with how things work and we will hopefully be able to pick up where we left off in terms of our progress.” 

The loss to Blair marks the end of Gouterman’s first season as coach. “I could not have asked for a better first season as a head coach. I think that I got very lucky with my situation because of the girls who were a part of the program. The girls were absolutely excellent and I am so thankful that I was lucky enough to coach them this year,” Gouterman explained.