October has been a good bounce-back month for the Cleveland Girls soccer team, with a record of 3-3 this past month. Qualifying for the state playoffs is a realistic goal, as they are on the fringe of achieving it. In their October matches, they have gone 3-3, beating Hood River, Franklin, and Roosevelt, but losing to McDaniel, Grant, and Ida B Wells. Players are continuing to find their groove late in the season as they fight for a playoff spot.

This past month for the girls has been crucial in defining this season’s success for the team. “I think that we have had a lot better team chemistry than earlier in the season,” sophomore midfielder Ibi Cooper said.

This has definitely gone into effect as the team has been putting up an average of three goals a game over the first four games of October. At the start of the season, many factors needed improvement. 

“Our defense has gotten a lot better since the start of the season,” sophomore defender Val Vaughan said.

In September, Cleveland had 26 goals scored against them, compared to just 17 goals allowed in October. The team has definitely seen success in stopping opponents in their past games defensively, leading to counter-attacking more efficiently off the back of their talented front line. These defensive improvements have helped turn around the season and get Cleveland to finish ranked fifth in PIL.

In the last week of league play, the stakes were high for Cleveland. They faced #4 Grant and #16 Ida B Wells in their path to getting into the playoffs. Now sitting at #33 in 6A, their strong late-season resume will hopefully get them in. If Cleveland gets into the playoffs, their opponents should be worried, because past years tell us that Cleveland is always a dangerous team come November.