The Sierra Canyon girls soccer team had a rough 2023 season but is looking forward to the future.
The first year in the Mission League was a learning experience and the Trailblazers will be much better prepared for the future.
The Trailblazers didn’t qualify for the playoffs having to deal with Harvard-Westlake, Chaminade and Notre Dame but ended the year in good fashion with a 3-2 victory against Flintridge-Sacred Heart. The Trailblazers defeated the Tologs twice.
“Winning our final match had everybody in good spirits,” Sierra Canyon coach Will Beard said. “We are very excited and energetic about next year. We now have a solid year under our belt. Experience is everything.”
Beard is excited about having several key players back.
Leading scorer Olivia Thedoratos will only be a junior next year and Maya Charuvastra had a stellar freshman campaign.
Anya Jones returns and the Trailblazers will have the services of Mia Torres, who sat out all year with an injury.
“We are looking forward to being full strength, something we never were this year,” Beard said. “We did some good things but could never sustain any consistency with all the injuries and girls in and out of the lineup.”
Sierra Canyon had early success in the nonleague portion of the schedule, defeating Cleveland, Crossroad and Highland, and winning the Garces Memorial tournament. However, Sierra Canyon was shut out in six league matches. But ended the year with a goal against Notre Dame and the victory against FSHA.
“Next year will be way better,” Beard said. “We have all the league matches under our belt, we will be healthy and we have way more knowledge on how to navigate this league better.”