APA girls' soccer holds Senior Night Tuesday
A quartet of players were honored Tuesday for their contributions to the greatest run in Arendell Parrott girls’ soccer history.
Gisell Cervantes, Adelyn Lowry, Alex Melk and Emily Sydes had their Senior Night celebration, as the team reflected on an amazing run, culminating with the school’s first girls’ soccer state title in 2019. Since 2016, the Patriots have gone 69-29-2 and the four have played significant roles throughout.
“They’re a special group,” APA coach Shivar Person said. “Most of them have been here since seventh grade and they’ve worked hard. Three of them are state champions and nobody can take that away. We’ve been fortunate to have a group come in as seventh-graders who came in and helped build the foundation. We feel as though we can continue to contend, but we’re not here without our seniors.”
Lowry wasn’t on the 2019 roster — she was playing club ball during her freshman and sophomore seasons — but she came back last season and is now the school’s all-time leader in goals scored with 90. While she said it’s been a great career, Lowry said it’s felt wonderful being able to have a season after last year’s was cut short two games in due to COVID-19.
“We got to do everything we wanted to for Senior Night, and it was fun to just come together and play this year,” Lowry said.
Sydes, who played a pivotal role defensively throughout her career, including the state title, shared similar sentiments.
“I wasn’t expecting to have a whole Senior Night, so I was glad the whole team was able to come together and have a memorable time,” Sydes said.
W&A attys at law & built on trust.jpg
Cervantes scored the first goal with 14:32 remaining in the 2019 state title game, as APA defeated Carolina Day 2-0. Cervantes had 15 goals and eight assists in her first year with the Patriots that season, but couldn’t play as a senior due to an ACL injury. Still, she said her time at APA has been great.
“I’m never going to forget how welcoming these girls were when I came here, and they made it really easy to play with them,” Cervantes said. “They’ve been supportive on and off the field and the relationships we’ve built are great — I enjoyed my time here and there’s nowhere else I’d rather play.”
As the Patriots focus toward the playoffs, Melk has an opportunity to move up the career list. Melk scored the final goal in the state championship with 5:22 to play and has 71 goals — two away from topping Jaclyn Ervin for second on the all-time list. While Tuesday’s outcome wasn’t what the team wanted, Melk said it meant a lot to even be on the field.
“Losing the season last year to COVID hurt, especially for the seniors,” Melk said. “It was a relief to be able to play our Senior Year and do the regular traditions, and even though we didn’t win we played well.”
A quartet of players were honored Tuesday for their contributions to the greatest run in Arendell Parrott girls’ soccer history.
Gisell Cervantes, Adelyn Lowry, Alex Melk and Emily Sydes had their Senior Night celebration, as the team reflected on an amazing run, culminating with the school’s first girls’ soccer state title in 2019. Since 2016, the Patriots have gone 69-29-2 and the four have played significant roles throughout.
“They’re a special group,” APA coach Shivar Person said. “Most of them have been here since seventh grade and they’ve worked hard. Three of them are state champions and nobody can take that away. We’ve been fortunate to have a group come in as seventh-graders who came in and helped build the foundation. We feel as though we can continue to contend, but we’re not here without our seniors.”
Lowry wasn’t on the 2019 roster — she was playing club ball during her freshman and sophomore seasons — but she came back last season and is now the school’s all-time leader in goals scored with 90. While she said it’s been a great career, Lowry said it’s felt wonderful being able to have a season after last year’s was cut short two games in due to COVID-19.
“We got to do everything we wanted to for Senior Night, and it was fun to just come together and play this year,” Lowry said.
Sydes, who played a pivotal role defensively throughout her career, including the state title, shared similar sentiments.
“I wasn’t expecting to have a whole Senior Night, so I was glad the whole team was able to come together and have a memorable time,” Sydes said.
W&A attys at law & built on trust.jpg
Cervantes scored the first goal with 14:32 remaining in the 2019 state title game, as APA defeated Carolina Day 2-0. Cervantes had 15 goals and eight assists in her first year with the Patriots that season, but couldn’t play as a senior due to an ACL injury. Still, she said her time at APA has been great.
“I’m never going to forget how welcoming these girls were when I came here, and they made it really easy to play with them,” Cervantes said. “They’ve been supportive on and off the field and the relationships we’ve built are great — I enjoyed my time here and there’s nowhere else I’d rather play.”
As the Patriots focus toward the playoffs, Melk has an opportunity to move up the career list. Melk scored the final goal in the state championship with 5:22 to play and has 71 goals — two away from topping Jaclyn Ervin for second on the all-time list. While Tuesday’s outcome wasn’t what the team wanted, Melk said it meant a lot to even be on the field.
“Losing the season last year to COVID hurt, especially for the seniors,” Melk said. “It was a relief to be able to play our Senior Year and do the regular traditions, and even though we didn’t win we played well.”
