Mataya Bean gets ready to pass the ball during a Delta home game
The DHS Girls’ Soccer Team had a great 2025 season with a 17-0 record, but it ended after they lost to Timnath in the state quarterfinals.
Team Captain Jaycee Christie shared her thoughts about losing in that game.
Christie said, “It’s kind of a sore subject at the moment. It’s really hard because we had so much potential and were such a good team… We lost 1-0 to a team I think that we probably should have beaten, but it just wasn’t our game, and wasn’t our day,” Christie said.
Freshman Aaliyah Canez had a similar perspective on how the team took the loss: “It was really disappointing, but I know they tried their best,” Canez said.
The loss isn’t going to stop the girls from improving for their next season, however. Sophomore Mataya Bean has a few tactics that she could have done this year to help her improve for spring 2026. “[I could have] hustled more, crashed at the goal, I should have done those,” Bean said.
Bean still has two years to go in her high school career, and Canez still has three years to go. In that time, she can hone her skills by communicating more during her gameplay. Communication may be a large thing for Canez to work on, but it is also something for the team to work on.
Christie, as a captain, wished to improve not only herself but the team, too. “I feel like next season we can definitely improve on everybody working hard every game, and more of our passing on the field and stuff, as well as being a team player… creating more of a team dynamic will help us play at a higher level next year,” Christie said.
All the girls have memories from this season. For Canez, it’s “winning our first game,” Canez said.
“I played one of our home games, and one of my favorite teammates to play with up top, Jessica Black, scored her one-hundredth career goal, which is pretty insane to do,” Christie said.
Finally, Bean had a memory from being on the varsity team. “[I’ll remember] just how much fun it was with the seniors and everybody. I’m gonna miss soccer.”
Bean also commented on how the team will be without the seniors next year. “We are losing our forward, we’re losing our defense, and we’re losing our goalie.”
Janelle Christie, another freshman on the team, has an alternative look at the seniors leaving. “I feel like we have a lot of good people coming up, and that we’ll be very successful as long as we work as a team,” Christie said.
