The 2024 Northwest girls soccer team lost to Blue Valley West in the state championship, 3-0. They ended the season with 14 wins, six losses and one tie. Head coach Michelle Pothoven said this team was successful because of their experience, talent and leadership.
However, the team included nine senior players, part of a team current senior captain Mia Labounty said was perfect. Now, the team looks to enter the season strong, building off of last year’s players’ legacy.
Pothoven said past players’ names come up in practice as the team focuses on what worked last year and what they want to build on this year.
“They left a foundation. They left a legacy that we are building on already,” Pothoven said.
Similarly, Labounty said although losing nine seniors was not ideal, the wisdom and lessons the team learned from them offered the current team a way to improve from last year.
Pothoven said one of the reasons for last year’s success was the expectations the players kept for themselves and their teammates.
“I think one of the biggest reasons they were successful is because they held each other accountable,” Pothoven said. “They held the team accountable, and they were a very, very close-knit group of people.”
Additionally, Labounty said the dynamic between all teammates contributed to how they played, mainly because they were friends on and off the field. Labounty said this is why bonding is a priority for the team this year. She said they do “question of the day” before practices and Bigs and Little team sisters, where teammates give each other gifts before games, so the team can have a close connection during the season.
Pothoven said some of the strengths the girls already have this year are direct reflections of last year. She said communication, commitment and the willingness to get after each other are three of this team’s biggest strengths.
“Our seniors are great leaders, but it’s not only our seniors leading, it’s everybody,” Pothoven said. “When everybody’s on board and everybody’s looking to do that, that’s when we get better.”
Labounty said “the want” and motivation to win is the key to success.
“Since we lost so many players, we try to make it a point like you have to still want it,” Labounty said. “If you don’t want it, then you shouldn’t be playing on the field.”
Pothoven said that desire is present in this year’s team but in a different way than last year.
“We’re different because I think we’re a lot more eager to learn this year,” Pothoven said. “It’s not that last year seniors weren’t; it’s just they had kind of established their own identity over four years, and that’s what we worked with, and it worked fine.”
Physically, Labounty said the team has both a strong defensive and offensive unit, especially because the team excels in speed. Despite many of her friends no longer being on the team, she said the younger players bring a new energy to the Huskies.
“The younger ones bring a light that we didn’t have. They are sunshine and rainbows all the time,” Labounty said. “I think that’s a big reason why I like playing, they make me laugh every day.”
While this year’s team is already on the younger side, Pothoven said it could continue to get younger. She said there are spots to fill, and the coaches are looking for the correct people to play the correct positions.
“One of the things our seniors did at the beginning of the season was set a goal to be like ‘We are not going to be last year’s team, we’re not going to compare ourselves all season, because we have to be our own team and have our own identity,’” Pothoven said. “I think that has really opened everything up. It’s been very welcoming.”
Labounty said with the large number of new players this year comes adaptability, which is a priority among the team. She said open-mindedness is a quality the team needs to have and understand they may have to try new plays and positions, even if that is not one’s strength.
Although change is difficult, Pothoven said this year’s teams’ adaptability can be an advantage.
“We are going to try a lot of different things we always do: trying where we’re best, how we’re best, who we are best with in what places. And I think that’s going to make us very unpredictable,” Pothoven said. “If you’ve got the leadership and the communication you can do anything.”
