The girls soccer team are charging their way up to the top.

The lady chargers have come a long way after making school history last season.

Last season, the lady chargers won the region and district championships for the first time in Bullitt East history, but lost in the first round of semi-state. To make a big comeback, they are preparing for the new season by practicing harder and staying focused. The lady chargers are predicting to have their best season yet and giving the community of Mt. Washington something to talk about.

Last season the girls soccer team were the region and district champs for the first time in school history. Along with the major wins, their season stats 19-5-1. 

“The first time we won districts alone, we beat Mercy for the first time and Steve [Gentry] cried, our coach, cried, and it was such a moment like, ‘Wow, this actually has meaning. I’m a part of something bigger than myself’ and I think that’s super powerful and that has had the most effect on me,” said senior and Team Captain Tayler Mahoney.

Although they lost in the first round of semi-state, it was a big accomplishment for the lady chargers. They had a close game against Bethlehem High School with the final score being 6-5. “That was new for us. We had never been there before. We handled that okay but not as well as I would’ve liked to, so hopefully this year we’re going to go back and go farther,” said Gentry.

To achieve their goals for the new season, they have a lot of work to do to prepare. The girls are already one step ahead. They started conditioning as early as in May and are having practices every other day to improve and stay strong.

“I feel like the coaches are pushing us harder because we have so much potential. Personally, my mindset is way better than last year. I’m more positive on myself, like in practices and I really want to get better and improve myself, so I push myself through all the hard workouts we do,” said senior Sarah Ezell who plays center defense. 

During practices, the lady chargers focus a lot on keeping good touch on the ball, control and running. Having good endurance is a must because during soccer you are running constantly. 

“Over the summer we started at eight minutes [running] and everyday we worked up a minute and then two, then eventually we got up to 20 minutes,” said senior Emily Ezell who plays midfield.

All of the hard work the lady chargers have put into preparing for the new season will be much needed with them moving up to the “A” bracket in the Bluegrass State Games. They will be playing against the top teams in the state. Although this may seem intimidating, the girls are expecting to have an even more successful season than last year.

“I see us winning the district, winning the region, go back and win some games at the state. Who knows. When it comes to the state championship there’s luck involved, there’s draw involved, there’s official calls. So many things. As long as we’re in the conversation then we’ll have a great season,” said Gentry. 

For Mahoney, she hopes to win state, and give BE girls soccer a new name. “I just think we can give them something to talk about if last year was not enough,” said Mahoney.

So far the girls are going in strong for the season with already winning their first two games against Central Hardin and Eastern. Their next game will be at home against Owensboro Cathlic on 8/16 starting at 1 p.m.