As the Lady Dons Soccer team prepares to take on the Carlsbad Lancers this week in CIF, players want to make every moment of their 2025-2026 season count. From team chemistry on the field to fun hangouts off the field, the girls plan to use their friendship for success.

Western League

In the Western League, the girls have gone 5-2-1 and plan to go into the Open Division for this year’s CIF. After their achievements in getting 2nd, most of the players are ready for the challenges that C.I.F will bring. The team has had some hard matchups but feels that the Western League has prepared them.

As 7 seniors graduate, Sienna Willard ‘26 is a player who has been more grateful than ever for the Lady Dons. “My favorite memory was senior night, where I assisted and I had such an emotional night,” she says. Sienna also commented on how every single senior on the team has enjoyed every moment with their teammates.

Besides senior night, the girls had to adapt to a few new changes this year compared to the previous season. “Our team had a very new defense, but we got the hang of it pretty quickly,” Willard says. With the loss of many of their backline players, new players were put into defense and had to adopt a new strategy to win games. However, with all the strong chemistry on the team, the girls were able to connect on the field and communicate with the new change.

Plans for CIF

Giuliana Phung ‘28 has been on the team for two years now, and has loved every moment of it. “This year, I feel like we built a lot of team chemistry,” Giuliana says. The team has constantly put in effort to come closer off the field by having fun team sleepovers and lunches before games. With a very connected team, the girls’ soccer team feels that they can make it far in C.I.F in Open.

As preparation for CIF happens this week, Coach Dawn Lee has some insight into the team’s hard work. “We need to just play more consistently as we go into the playoffs,” Lee says. She is super proud of her team’s accomplishments and loves seeing the team grow.

The Lady Dons are ranked #3 in Open and plan to win it by constantly improving and adapting to the teams they play. Lee adds, “Just staying connected and bonded can help us, and then just being ready with our opponent, and we’ll just be ready.”

The girls hope to make it far in C.I.F. and play their very best. With getting second in the Western League to playing in the Open division, the Lady Dons are ready for any challenge. The girls have grown so much over the past few months and they can’t wait to see what will happen next for the team.