The Suffolk Christian Academy Lady Knights finished their spring soccer season earlier this year with an 8-5 record, finishing second in the HRAC conference.

It came as a surprise to many of the players because of injuries and graduations from last year’s team. To start off the season, the Lady Knights lost three key contributors due to injury, and four seniors from the team last year had graduated.

Despite injuries, the Lady Knights were able to take their play to another level. At best, the Lady Knights thought they were going to be in for a rebuilding season, but it turned into something much more.

The Lady Knights were forced by those unfortunate situations to trust each other. Without trust in each other, they knew their season was essentially lost before it started.

“The success of this season came as a surprise,” Lady Knight Eva Waddell said. “The younger girls really stepped up and played to a level I’ve never seen in them before. The season wasn’t easy since we had fewer players, but it showed me what true sportsmanship and playing like a team is.”

In recent seasons, the Lady Knights were used to having very skilled teams. This year, they were forced to find other ways to win games. Each player had to depend on her teammate and trust that she would make the right play.

On the offensive side, the team was led by senior captain Victoria Twisdale. The team scored 82 goals this season. Twisdale finished her final season up with a team-high 47 goals and was the primary source for the team’s offensive production. She scored her 100th goal of her career this season and was a first-team all-conference player. The seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders combined for 22 goals this season. Waddell and seventh-grader Jaden Patton had five goals each. Eighth-grader Taylor Effler was second on the team with 10 goals.

Waddell anchored the defense for SCA this season. They allowed 69 goals. Their season came to an end after an HRAC conference tournament semifinal loss in early May.

“I knew we had a bumpy road ahead of us, but we put in a lot of work,” Twisdale said. “In the long run, it really showed.”

Twisdale has played five years of soccer for the Lady Knights. She felt this year was the best she’s seen in regards to her team moving the ball up field.

This season was also the last season the Lady Knights will be led by coach Jeremy Effler. It was important for the team to make sure they had a good season for him as well.

“I’m proud to say that we were able to give him a good season,” Waddell said. “We did the best we could for him and each other.”

“He’s been a big part of our lives on and off the field,” Twisdale said.