Mimbas’ Season Comes to a Close

The Mimbas, Stuyvesant’s girls’ soccer team, ran on the grass field for the final time in the 2018 season on a brisk Thursday afternoon. The team was defeated by the powerhouse Tottenville High School team, which finished the regular season with a record of 12-2.

The Mimbas finished the regular season with a record of 8-4 and placed third in their division. The team kicked off the season with a record of 0-2 but lost junior forward Eve Hausman early in the season to a devastating injury.

In the playoffs, they squared off against James Madison High School, a team that finished the regular season first place in their division with an 11-1 record. The Mimbas came out flat in the first half and found themselves in a 1-0 hole at halftime. After the intermission, however, they were able to erase the one goal deficit and ultimately win the thrilling game by a score of 2-1 on goals from sophomore Aki Yamaguchi and senior captain Allison Eng.

The second round started similarly. Tottenville led at halftime by a score of 1-0. With the Mimbas facing elimination, junior Selene Kaehny tied the game up in the second half. With neither team scoring for the rest of the half, the game went to overtime. And in the extra period, the Mimbas allowed a heartbreaking goal, and their brilliant 2018 season came to a close. The team only had a total of four shots on goal to back up junior goalkeeper Emory Walsh’s spectacular 21-save performance.

Though the Mimbas’ playoff run finished much sooner than they would have liked, they have to be pleased with how much they accomplished in such a challenging season. Hausman’s injury was certainly the biggest blow, as she had eight goals and three assists a season ago. However, the team found a way to fill that large hole in their lineup and finished with a winning record and a spot in the playoffs, improving upon their 5-5 regular season record of 2017.

Now, with many of their star players graduating, the Mimbas must overcome even more adversity in the 2019 season. There will be many gaping holes in the roster left by seniors Alexandra Lennard, Allison Eng, Isabel Mendoza, Lee-Ann Rushlow, and Lumi Westerlund, whose soccer careers helped the team win two playoff games in the last four years.

The pressure is now on for the current juniors and underclassmen to step up and build on their great 2018 season. And hopefully, the 2019 Mimbas will be able to replicate, and perhaps improve on, this special season.