High School Girls fútbol team lost to Marymount 1-0 in the finals of the Copa Columbus Tournament at TCS on March 7.

The team finished the tournament with 3 victories, 2 ties and 1 match lost. They scored a total of 11 goals with only 2 against. Senior Captain Paulina Alvarez led the team with 3 goals. 

“We had a strong start to the tournament, winning several games in the group stage with lots of points for goals in our favour, but it was still insufficient,” Alvarez said.

After the pandemic, this was the first all-hands-on-deck Copa Columbus. Last year, due to capacity, only 3 teams participated, but this year TCS was able to invite 5 teams.

“The event felt more authentic this year compared to last year the pandemic forced fewer teams in the tournament and there was less rivalry and school spirit,” Senior Valentina Garces said.

Some of the palyers were worn out during the final match due to the 40-minute semifinal match they played against Colegio Cumbres earlier in the day, which Columbus won 3-2 on penalties.

“As we didn’t have enough time to relax in between games, most of us were emotionally and physically spent from the game and penalties when we played the final,” Senior Helena Hoyos said.

After placing second in the November ACCAS tournament, it was difficult for the players and the coach to begin practicing again at the beginning of the second semester.

“Despite the inconsistent of the practices, it’s difficult to forget playing soccer after you’ve played it a long time; still we were able to put up a fight till the final whistle,” Alvarez said.

After their performance in the ACCAS tournament, fewer girls applied to join the team this semester; only 4 to 7 of the 16 players attended practices.

“The majority of the squad stopped practicing after we got back from vacation since some of our teammates quit football,” Garces said.

Coach Hernan Arango was aware of the challenges they would face, and once the team had begun to heal from their defeat in the ACCAS competition, he had made peace with the fact that whether or not they were victorious, his main concern was keeping the team’s unity.

“Getting a team, a family, and a community together was more important to me than the title,” Coach Arango said.