Beginning of the Lasts

Ryna Mayekar

A mix of emotions led up to this meaningful week for the varsity football girls. Many were excited for all their hard work and painful diets to pay off. As their last practice on Monday came to an end, the reality of how soon the end was coming hit the departing players. With around eight weeks left till the seniors graduate, this was going to be one of the many lasts coming their way.

Two of the seven seniors had put the ball in the back of the net by the end of their first game with a final score of 4-0 against Morrison Academy-Kaohsiung. The win made the entire team’s morale even stronger than it initially was. With a sense of belonging on the field, as coach would tell them, they took on every game with the best possible mindset.

The girls lost their next game 1-0 against Grace International School, but didn’t allow their teammates to feel low since they had more games to play. The next day consisted of two games. They put up a tough battle against the champions of the tournament, ICS Hong Kong, and lost 3-0. This completed the pool play and pushed the girls into the losing bracket.

This didn’t stop the girls from playing to their fullest. They came out on top of the bracket, placing 5^th after winning their next two games, 4-0 each time. They never got to play 2^nd place Morrison Academy Central, 4^th place ICS Bangkok, or last place Yongsan International School-Seoul.

This ACSC was set to mark the last 5 games of the seniors’ high school football careers. After that last game, an era in their life was over. For some, this meant the world to them. Throughout their second match up against MAK, words along the lines of “last one for the seniors” was shared across the field. Seconds after the whistle blew to signify the end of their last ever ACSC, tears began to fall. Within 10 minutes, the entire team was bawling their eyes out, embracing one another. The next team coming on to the pitch surely gave them some odd looks since they saw that Dalat had just won their game. Many meaningful words were exchanged such as, “it breaks my heart to know that this is the last game I will ever play with these girls, but all the laughter, memories, friendships, wins, and losses that this team has brought me is something I would never trade for anything else,” said Mandy Lim (12).

The below picture was taken while some of us were still crying, right after our last game. Coach Frohlich is holding flowers the girls got for her as it was also her last game coaching us.