With winter coming to a close and spring just around the corner, a new season of sports has started up, and the Upper School girls soccer team returns to the field for another season. With daily practices, the players are working to build teamwork, improve their skills, sharpen their footwork, and prepare for the season. There is a lot of optimism and excitement on the team surrounding the upcoming season.
“I think this year our team has grown stronger with new players joining and bringing great skills,” captain and senior Kiley Moss said. “Our main strengths are our competitiveness and our dedication to training and games.” According to girls soccer coach Neil Curran, “We’re better than last year, and the girls are focused on returning to a culture of expectations and performance.” He explained that last year’s record had some great performances in it that is easily overlooked given the significant strength of our conference. “In fact, our conference is so strong, it would be easy to see our record and miss how close it really was. Actually, when you look at close losses last year to UHIGH (top 8 finisher last year), Latin (Sectional Semifinals 2A), and Willows (Final 4) there is plenty of reason to be optimistic,” Curran said.
Moss also commented, “One goal for this year’s team is to make a strong playoff run while growing more skilled as a team. I am also hoping that every player, including myself, is able to improve individually, thereby making our whole team stronger.” Like Moss, Curran is very clear in his goal for the team: “to perform 1 percent better every day and ultimately [better] than last year.”
The composition of the 2026 team is different from last year’s team. The team is smaller, which allows the players to be more focused. Curran explained that the caliber of players has drastically improved. “We have seen vast improvements from last year’s team in terms of fitness, technique, and tactics. As a coaching staff we can increase our attention to improving the student athletes. Because of this, our intensity–– physically, technically, tactically ––has increased.” The small size of Parker and the small number of players on the Parker team were noticeable to sophomore Marley Ross, who was new to Parker this year. “Since Parker is not a big school, there weren’t a large number of girls trying out, and further, everyone has a different skill set. This is a big change from my old school where we had enough numbers for more than three teams. At first, this change was hard but as this season has progressed, it has taught me how to be a better leader,” Ross said.
Being captain of a team is a personal goal of many athletes at Parker. After playing soccer all four years of high school, Moss takes her role seriously. “To me, being captain of the team means helping set the standard for effort and attitude while leading by example. In addition, I believe that being a captain means supporting every teammate, both on and off the field, to build a strong, united team.” That “united” mentality and sense of community is felt by Ross. “Something I have noticed while playing so far this season is that everyone is uplifting and supportive of one another. There are many different skill levels, and although it is frustrating when making a mistake, everybody is incredibly supportive and boosts one another up,” Ross said.
As the team builds on last year’s progress and looks ahead to new challenges, their mindset reflects that of former U. S. soccer player Mia Hamm, who once said, “Celebrate what you’ve accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed.” The girls soccer team has set new goals for this year and even higher expectations.
