By Jasmine Amaro
El Diamante girls soccer hosts senior night on February 4th against Porterville in celebration of seniors that played soccer their whole high school career who deserve to be celebrated on this special night.
The girls soccer seniors include Melissa Ruiz, Kaimely Bawanan, Brooklyn Bawanan, Jasmine Amaro, Danielle Benitez, Lila Krebsbach, and Sophia Benevento who each shared a few things about themselves. They described their favorite memories of this season, who has had the biggest impact on them, their pregame meal or superstition, and their plans for the future.
Starting off with goal keeper Melissa Ruiz, known as the undertaker, had played on JV for two years and varsity for two years. Melissa described her favorite memory as “when [we] ran the warm up laps I used the short cuts every time to be able to walk behind the fences and catch my breath”. Melissa includes that one person is not enough, every player on the team has impacted her experience one way or another this season. Continuing, Melissa’s superstition is that “stepping on the lines on the field before a game can cause a loss.” Lastly, Melissa’s plan in the future is to attend Fresno City College to major in Dental Hygiene.
Moving forward with center back Kaimely Bawanan, known as the destroyer, had played on Varsity all four years of her high school career. Kai explained that her favorite memory is “anytime I get to play striker and score bangers up top.” The person that had the biggest impact on her experience on the team is her identical twin sister Brooklyn. Kai’s go to pregame meal is Trader Joe’s mini peanut butter sandwich crackers while her pregame superstition is that she has to get at least twenty juggles before she plays. Kai’s plan for the future includes going to college and to finish out her high school career strong.
Next up is striker and winger Brooklyn Bawanan, known as only one mode, who had played varsity for all four years of high school. Brooklyn’s favorite memory is “winning our first annual Battle for the Rattle! I scored to tie the game and scored again to win it.” The person that had the biggest impact on her experience on the team was having Chris as part of the coaching staff last year. Brooklyn’s superstition before a game includes her having a good game hair usually consisting of dutch braids. Brooklyn’s plan for the future is to run D1 track at Fresno State competing as a hurdler and sprinter with a goal to become a dermatologist and overall just a very happy girl with a huge swing in her backyard.
Continuing, right back defense Jasmine Amaro, known as the silent assassin, had played varsity all four years throughout high school. Her favorite memory includes the Buchanan tournament where she scored her first goal of the season. The person that had the biggest impact on her experience was Kai because she helps in giving her advice when they are together in the back line. Jasmine’s pregame meal is eating goldfish or pretzels before a game. Her plans for the future are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science at a 4-year university.
Carrying on, midfielder and center back Danielle Benitez, known as butter, had played on varsity all four years throughout high school. Dani expresses how her favorite memory is “sophomore year when me and two seniors, Bella and Sami, took a chair from Granite Hills by shoving it in Bella’s car.” The person that had the biggest impact on her experience was Sophia Benvento. Danielle states that “we were on each other’s first ever club team and my ball partner the past four years.” Her pregame superstition is having a redbull, music, and pre-game handshake with Sophia. Danielle’s plans for the future consists of playing D2 soccer at Chico State University and majoring in Kinesiology with hopes of being in the sports medicine field.
Proceeding with midfielder Lila Krebsbach, known as a smooth operator, had played on JV for two years and Varsity for two years. Lila’s favorite memory is “staying the night in Morro Bay for a tournament and spending the night downtown SLO with my teammates.” The person that had the biggest impact on her experience is her dad because she says that “he always encouraged me to keep playing even when I didn’t want to and he has been my biggest coach in not only soccer but life as well.” Lila’s pregame meal is to only eat light foods such as bread and lunch meat. Her plans for the future is attending a four year university with a major in business/economics and then going to med school after.
Last but not least is right/left winger Sophia Benevento, known as stone cold, had played on Varsity all four years of high school. Her favorite memory is “when Sid and I created positive Thursday which was a tradition, every Thursday was dedicated to optimism and good energy.” The person that had the biggest impact on her experience was Dani. Sophia explains how “she’s always been there for me and never fails to make me laugh.” Sophia’s pregame meal is always bananas and before every game she has a handshake with Bella and Dani. Her plans for the future is to go to a four year university and then to medical school in hopes to become a pediatrician.
A little recap of the girls soccer season had encountered obstacles with only a few losses this season, but the team never gave up at the end of each game and always finished strong. In their last league game, which was against Golden West in Battle for the Rattle, the El Diamante Girls varsity had successfully continued to win the Rattle for the third time in a row with a 4-0 score and is now ready to compete in playoffs starting this Friday.
