One Vision. One Game.

By: Jacky Becker

Seventeen minutes remained in the state championship game and sophomore Cayla Imahara looked up to see a wide open goal, but instead passed to senior Alyssa Rodriguez. The clock ticked down and the ball inched closer and closer to Rodriguez’s foot. Rodriguez fired a shot into the back of the net and GVHS women’s soccer team captured their first state championship.

“I fell to my knees,” senior goalie Hailey Beekman said. “I was back at the goal, watching the ball go in. I made sure it went in before I celebrated. Once it went in, it was like an adrenaline rush and we were one step closer to winning the game.”

The Gators scored their first goal late in the second half of the state championship match and eventually beat rival Centennial High School, 1-0.

“All I was thinking at the time was ‘What can I do to try to help us win’,” Imahara said. “I was really excited and I was happy for Alyssa to get the goal because she works really hard and she earned it.”

Though this was the Gators’ first appearance in a state championship game in three years, some players took this game as a redemption game from the 2008 loss to the Centennial Bulldogs in the state final.

“My freshman year we had the same battle between Centennial and Green Valley and we lost 1-0,” Beekman said. “Kayla Varner and I (the only two players to compete in both state championship games) were pretty much thinking, this is it. We had to do it. It was for redemption.”

Imahara believed that this win was a fitting end to the great season that the Gators had this year.

“(Winning the game) was awesome because all the hard work and practices paid off,” Imahara said.

Beekman discussed how getting prepared for the game was all about believing in yourself and keeping the confidence up.

“I am number one in state, so it was all about being mentally prepared,” Beekman said. “I prayed every day for this win.”

As the top goalie in the league, Beekman believed that it was her job to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard. With four close calls from the Centennial offense, Beekman ultimately earned the biggest shutout of her career.

“Once you are scored on as a keeper, your team will just keep that same pace,” Beekman said. “One was all we needed to get us going.”

During the course of the game, the Gators remained scoreless during the first half and fell behind Centennial 6 to 3 in shots on goal.

“I wasn’t worried too much because anything can happen so I just kept my head up,” Beekman said.

Coach Roy Snyder thinks that this perseverance showed everyone exactly the type of team the Gators really were.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Snyder said. “They worked really hard all year long and for some of them it took a three to four year period to get to that so it is a very proud moment for them and it is something they will remember forever.”

Snyder believed that Centennial was a formidable team, but he trusted that his team would come up with the victory.

“In a state championship game, it’s so much about emotions and who wants it more,” Snyder said. “Centennial is a great team. The biggest challenge was that they were big, but other than that, to be honest, I wasn’t really concerned with what they were going to do because I was confident that if we came out and played hard and do what we know we can do, then we would be fine.”

As the clock reached the 90th minute and the final whistle blew, the Gators celebrated by tackling each other in jubilation.

“I jumped in the air. I seriously had goosebumps,” Beekman said.

The Gators also showed their love for pink as both the coaches and most of the players got streaks of pink in their hair before the state championship match.

Next season, the Gators will lose seven seniors but will bring back thirteen underclassmen. As for the seniors, this moment will always be one to remember.

“It feels amazing to be state champions,” Beekman said. “It is all about teamwork, and we had it.”