Boulder High Girls Soccer is back, and the team is looking better than ever. This season, this team full of returners is breaking ground and working as hard as ever, with hopes to exceed last year’s playoff run.
This year’s team is all but unchanged, save for a key addition: Ane Mackey. Despite being just a freshman, Mackey has already made a big impact on the team. UMass-Boston commit Maddy Moore, ‘25, says, “Get ready for Ane Mackey. She is 100 percent ready for this season and has worked so hard to get here. [I am] so proud of her and excited to see what she can show us.” Neva Woodson, ‘25, seconds this sentiment. She says, “[Mackey] is going to be a powerhouse for this program and I am so excited to get to play with her this year.” She will play alongside only one other freshman, Kiri Fogerty-Sears, ‘28, who will also make a big impact on the pitch.
Aside from those two, the team mostly consists of members from last year’s squad. Out of the 19-player roster, 15 are returning varsity players. This includes last year’s goals and assists leader, San Diego State commit Mia DeJohn, ‘25, along with goalkeeper and Babson commit Maisie Creamer, ‘25. All of the team’s captains are also returning Varsity players: Sylvie Rowe ‘25, Elle Ceres ‘26, Moore, and Creamer.
Like almost all other BHS sports teams, the girls are playing in a new league this year. With the change in league will come a significant change in competition. Out of their opponents in the new Rocky Mountain League, only one team had a winning record last season. While this undoubtedly will make the Panthers’ road to the playoffs easier, many of the players are disappointed about the schedule change. Creamer says “it’s definitely going to be an easier season, much to my dismay. I wish we could still be in the other league because I love the high level of competition.”
But what the Panthers lack in strength of schedule within the conference they make up for with their out-of-conference games. They play many of the same teams out of conference that they played in conference last year, including Fairview. Last year’s win against Fairview changed the trajectory of Boulder’s season. They went into the big match after a shaky 2-3 start to the year, and got out to an early deficit in the game. After coming from behind and beating the Knights, the Panthers took the ensuing momentum and ran with it, winning four out of their next five games. There’s no doubt that the girls are hungry for another win against Fairview this season. Last year’s win against the school down south was the team’s first win against them in 11 years.
More importantly than their team success, the girls value their relationships with each other on and off the field. Hamline commit Neva Woodson says, “My teammates mean the world [to me]. They’re the people who have seen me at my best and at my worst, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them. It’s a family, not everyone gets to have and I am extremely grateful to have these strong people in my life always making me want to be better.” This mentality drives the trajectory of the team and is what led them to success last year. After two consecutive losing seasons in 2022 and 2023, last year’s squad made the playoffs.
This year, the Panthers have gotten off to a promising start. On March 7, they beat a strong Arvada West team 2-1, the goals coming from captain Ceres and freshman Fogerty-Sears. They have games versus Horizon, Erie, and Monarch before the Fairview match on March 20th. With commits like DeJohn, Creamer, Moore and Woodson, and freshman star power in the form of Mackey and Fogerty-Sears, there’s no reason why the team can’t build off of last year’s success and make a deep run into the 5A playoffs.
