As the lights dimmed down, the team left the stadium with the bittersweet memory of their accomplishment.

The varsity girls soccer competed at Barbers Hill Stadium on March 29, falling short 4-1 against the Nederland Bulldogs in the first round of playoffs. It was a historic moment, as it was the first playoff appearance in school history.

“We watched a lot of games so we could get used to correcting on the field so we kind of knew what’s coming ahead of time,” coach Gretchen Kloes said.

Despite the outcomes of previous years, Kloes had a strong feeling that this year would be the year where her team would step on the playoff field.

“We put in more effort to achieve what we wanted, make playoffs,” senior Iulianna Martinez said.

During off season, Kloes had the team run with cross country to build up their speed and conditioning. With all the training, Kloes didn’t want the girls to steer away from the most important thing, their health.

“We also were more active in the weightroom, lifting more, talking about injury prevention,” Kloes said. “We have to make sure they’re healthy.”

The Lady Panthers never gave up and pushed through during their last district game. They lost against Porter and finished 5-4-3 in district. However, they had to wait for a Barbers Hill loss or tie to know whether they advanced to playoffs.

“I felt proud of myself because I was ready for what was coming to us and I cried when we lost our last game, thinking we wouldn’t make it to playoffs,” Martinez said.

Fortunately, the girls advance to playoffs due to a draw and faced the Nederland Bulldogs on the first round of playoffs.

“We were so excited and ready to give our best no matter what the score was going to be at the end,” senior Kaylee Brankin said.

After they lost the game, the team was emotionally devastated but proud to have been in the process of making history.

“We were devastated, but we know in a game we either win or lose and we have to accept it,” freshman Julie Mendoza said. “At the end, we kept our heads high because we accomplished so many things this year.”