Irma Rangel '22
Bridge Lacrosse
debator, leader, writer, and athlete
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VYPE-U: Bridge Semi-Finals
The Varsity Panthers of Bridge Lacrosse focused, worked, and prepared for an intense back and forth game against Parish at the district semi-finals on May 27th. In the regular season, the Panthers beat Parish twice. Once in a one-goal game, and another by five goals. Despite these wins, the panthers fought, both mentally and physically, for a trip to the D3 District Finals. Sitting at #2 and #3 respectively, Bridge and Parish fought a two-hour-long battle that ultimately drained both teams.
The game started off with Bridge possession and a quick goal off the draw by San Diego State commit Jamyria Woods. It took just the second draw for Woods' first assist to Daniela Quiroga who scored quickly. The Panthers were leading 2-0 in under five minutes. The energy from the crowd began to get more and more exciting, but Parish started fighting back. With two back-to-back free-position shots, Parish tied the game. Both teams furiously fought for ground balls, interceptions, free positions, and goals. Most importantly both teams were patient with their plays and passes.
As the first half wound down, Bridge was down 5-2 and had been scoreless for about 15 minutes, while Parish has scored three free-position shots in that time. Although Parish was on a roll, Kimaari Mondy of Bridge Lacrosse made an exceptional save and a perfect clear to Jamyria Woods. Woods sprinted down to pass the ball and accidentally put it in the back of the cage for the Panthers, making it a two-goal game. The fight followed through halftime with Bridge leading 7-5.
Coming into the second half, Bridge changed their energy, mindset, and determination. They started fighting as if their lives depended on it. With more grit and hustle Bridge started the second half on fire. Kimaari Mondy got her first save of the second half and scored a successful clear to Jamyria Woods. Woods sprinted it all the way down to the attack, passed to Daniela Quiroga, who finished with a roll-dodge goal, tying the game. The game was tied throughout the majority of the second half, beginning a back and forth journey for both teams. Trying to take the lead, the Panthers scored back-to-back goals making the score 11-9. Parish, though, begins to catch up, and makes it a one-goal game. However, with a response, Katie Pham-Hua of Bridge Lacrosse scores her second of the game giving Bridge the two-goal lead.
With eight seconds left in the second half, the game is tied at 14-14. One last draw is set up. It becomes a 50/50 ground ball but Jamyria Woods eventually picks it up and shoots a buzzer-beating goal earning Bridge a trip to the district finals for the first time in team history.
VYPE-U: Forney Soccer Athlete, Corina Salazar
Soccer has become many student-athletes' passion and zeal. Corina Salazar is a junior at Forney High School who plays soccer for the Lady Rabbits Soccer team. Salazar has been playing soccer for 10 years! She is a versatile player who has sensational footwork and speed.
Being an athlete has taught Salazar many things about sportsmanship and teamwork. As an athlete, she learned that dedication and consistency are key to being successful. Soccer has kept her productive and overall a healthy person. The intensity of the level of soccer she participates in has kept her endurance and health at an all-time high. She has also learned that in order to be successful one has to diminish the natural want of coming up with excuses for not working hard. She understands that there will be times where she will want to quit, but she'll keep pushing no matter what. Salazar's mantra is as follows:
"A successful student-athlete is a person who does not use one thing to excuse the failure of another and manages a healthy balance between both. A student-athlete is capable of being able to do both and their success is determined by how much effort they put into it and that they are happy being a student-athlete."
Salazar has been playing soccer for a decade now, but what made her make the simple decision to continue to play soccer this long? She made the decision to play soccer thus far because it's something that she genuinely enjoys spending her time doing. Whenever she's playing in a game or at practice she wants to be there. She wants to be better. Soccer has never been a chore for her, and will never become something she's forcing herself to participate in. Her sole purpose and motivation is her father. She credits him for introducing her to the sport, and for never allowing her to give up when things got difficult. Because of his efforts, she is now a top-tier soccer player for the Lady Rabbits Soccer team. She hopes to continue her healthy habits and to keep working hard for the future she aspires to have. Salazar hopes to pass down all the life lessons she has learned from soccer to her future children.
When asked "If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?" She responded: "I would tell younger me to not worry about making a mistake, we will make mistakes all the time but you have to pick yourself up. Otherwise, you will be unhappy over something that was not worth being unhappy for." I think we could all agree that this piece of advice is something we all wish we knew as kids. Often, when we experience mistakes for the first time we beat ourselves up and it becomes a habitual thing, but when we learn that failure only leads to success we begin to experience everything we worked hard for.
As for Salazars' future, she is planning on furthering her education at a four-year institution where she will earn a degree in software engineering. She aspires to spend her life doing things that make her happy such as traveling and learning about different cultures. She simply wishes to live a happy and healthy life.
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