Madeline Petrick

Reacting to the game, juniors Kendall Dobberstein, Addison LaRock and Madelyn Schaffert cheer for their teammates.

The girls’ soccer team has started their season strong with leadership and friendship on their side as they prepare for their next game against Elkhorn South tonight at 6 p.m. Elkhorn South holds a record of 4-0 so far this season and is ranked number 4 in Nebraska Class A. With only a couple of weeks into the season, the Gretna East team has rallied together to create a 3-0 win streak. 

At the beginning of the season juniors Karli Williams, Madelyn Schaffert, Addison LaRock and Sonora DeFini were chosen by their teammates to be the team captains for this 2024 season. Three of the four captains have already committed to colleges to continue their journey with soccer. Williams is committed to the University of Nebraska Lincoln, DeFini is committed to Oklahoma State and LaRock is committed to the University of Nebraska Omaha.   

“If your teammates respect you enough to cast a vote for you, to put their trust in you, that says something,” head coach Chace Hutchison said. “We always know that they’re going to be there for the team and they’re going to do whatever is necessary to have success.”

Last year at Gretna High, the girls played as teammates and now work together to lead their team into a new season of determination and growth. 

“The players voted for their captains,” Hutchison said. “Sonora DeFini, Addie LaRock, Madelyn Schaffert, and Karli Williams were voted by their teammates as team captains so that kind of points them out as obvious leaders for us.”

By being leaders, they stand out amongst the crowd always cheering on their team and making sure everyone feels the support and encouragement that they deserve. 

“She [Schaffert] includes everyone and everything and she doesn’t want to disclude people, she’s super positive,” sophomore Annabelle Naylor said. “She’s always dancing, laughing, having fun and she tries to make every practice fun. Even if it’s something that we’re not having fun with, she finds some way to make someone laugh and she makes a lot of things enjoyable.”

Whether it’s to cheer on teammates or direct them in a game, the captains utilize their most powerful tool: their voice. 

“Karli runs our midfield and likes to use her voice more, so everyone looks up to her as a leader,” junior Kendall Doberstein said.

Despite having to work harder this season, the girls have shown nothing but hard work and effort on and off the field.