This story was supposed to be published on February 16, 2024, the day the February 2024 print issue was released
Girls’ soccer, 15–5–3, look to make a meteoric playoff run after recently winning six consecutive matches.
Coach Chaka Forman is optimistic regarding the season as a whole, holding to the idea that the teams’ chemistry is what’s most important.
“We’re happy about the season, but more importantly than the wins and losses, we’re building a group that believes in each other, loves each other, and plays for each other,” he said.
The team were to have faced the Birmingham Patriots, 6–12–5, Thursday for their opening playoff match in the CIF LA City Section Division 1 Championship.
The team remains confident about playoffs, with every game and practice having built up towards this moment, according to Forman.
“I say player preparation starts at the first game of the season. Now we’re just trying to get everyone’s fitness to 100%, and go into the first game feeling ready,” he said.
With only two goals conceded in the last six matches, the defense has proven to be the strongest area within the squad.
Senior Grace Kehr, a co-captain with seniors Josie Grippe and Sepalle Nseke, highlights sophomore Somer Staley, who she describes as an “insane defender who could easily go pro.”
The Gondoliers are ranked sixth out of 140 teams in the Los Angeles City Section, with Forman believing that this is due to the team’s “growing identity,” he said, “which ultimately proves superior over teams that are still
in search of one.”
However, no reward comes without its trials and tribulations, proven by the team’s 5–1 loss to Palisades January 19. The Dolphins may be the team that Venice faces in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
One of the many causes of this may be the team’s lack of energy throughout the start of the match. Kehr has described the Gondoliers as a “second-half team.”
Regardless of these setbacks, the team strives to always be forward-thinking.
“We try to win every game we play, so really, what we’ve done in the past is kind of irrelevant,” said Forman. “We only have one game in front of us,” he said.
For updates on the team’s postseason pursuits, check out veniceoarsman.com.
