After tying with Fairfax in their last game, January 23, 2026 Laces won 1-0 with a late game goal from Senior captain Riley Kim.
The day was sunny but cool, with recent rains leaving the field muddy and slippery. Despite these conditions LACES players pushed hard and played strong, keeping the ball on Fairfax’s side for most of both halves.
LACES kicked off the first half of the game and quickly got the ball close to Fairfax’s goal, keeping pressure on the goalie with several attempts by Juniors Ariana Diaz, Alice Brantley, Valeria Sanchez-Ballesteros, Emmi Yehoda and Sophomore Stella Cuyugan. In the two times the ball got close to LACES’s goal the team employed clear passing and communication with their goalie, Junior Kaya Thomas, who sent the ball right back to the other side of the field.
The tension was high after the first half came to an end with the score 0-0. Fairfax kicked off and the ball went back and forth across the field for the beginning of the second half. However, LACES quickly regained control as Senior Yareli Reynoso and Freshman Emilie Gonzalez made close shots. Then, with only thirteen minutes remaining, Kim scored a goal with a pass from Diaz.
“I think the number one thing while I was running up there to score a goal, I was like ‘do not miss!’”said Kim.
Coach Ms. Adrianna Van Wonterghem believes it was their pre-game warm up and training that got them their goal.
“We practiced moving as a team and ultimately the reason that we won that game was because we moved as a team,” said Van Wonterghem. But it wasn’t just their coach who was proud of this win.
“I think we kept our intensity that we had when we came into the game (during the second half) and also we were communicating a lot more,” said Gonzalez. “Last Fairfax game it was our first game of the entire season, we were a little disorganized, we didn’t communicate as much and we kind of made more mistakes; but as we’ve grown as a team and practiced more together we learned how to communicate well together to win this game.”
As the first game in the second half of their season, this re-match and victory against Fairfax is a great sign for the coming matches.