Could they do it again?

Yes, they could. And they did.

The Windward Girls Varsity Soccer team (10-2), the reigning Gold Coast League Champions, have once again claimed the league championship, becoming the first back-to-back girls soccer title holders in school history.

Last year, Windward won the league title for the first time since 2019, and only the second time in the last 20 years. Six of the team’s players attained all-league honors: Gold Coast League first team members Kennedy Richard (’25), Reese Zolkin (’25), and Georgia Miller (’24), second team members Olivia Jerry (’25) and Zoe Richman (’27’) and league MVP, Lexi Neiman (’26).

With only two seniors graduated, only one question remained: Would these Wildcats be the school’s first girls’ soccer team to win back-to-back championships?

Windward players went into the season confident that it was possible.

Entering the Year With Purpose

The Wildcats started off the preseason with a workout plan led by Amanda Mills, the newest staff member of the Windward soccer training program. Mills helped the girls get into shape with summer sessions in the Peak Performance Center and agility workouts out on the field.

For Head Coach Ben Thomas, this new style of training has been very effective in helping the team reach their full potential. “I am seeing us become stronger, faster, and more robust, specifically in games,” he said, “which will only help elevate our levels of competitiveness.”

Senior and captain Kennedy Richard was optimistic about this season.

“I’m very excited for the Windward team,” she explained, “because it has really committed girls.”

Assistant coach Sarai Zedingil shared Richard’s confidence.

“Honestly, I think we will do as well as we did last year,” she said. “Although it was sad to lose the two seniors, we did not lose that many players, which is good. We are preparing more than we did last season and in a different way, and we have some new additions coming up from our own middle school and other incoming ninth graders. So yes, I do think that we will do better than we did last year. That is the goal.”

“It felt great to see the ball go into the back of the net and hear everyone cheering around me. I’m happy that I was able to contribute to the team’s success.”—Lexi Gelbard (’26) after scoring the title-clinching goal against Brentwood

Thomas felt that there was room for improvement. He credited the team’s core values for its success and has confidence that they will carry them through the season.

“We are making a concerted effort to coach with real positivity and to be intentional around that,” he said. “Being able to identify individual needs and development alongside coaching the team is also a key focus for us.”

Coach Thomas also had a clear vision of what success looks like.

“We’re wanting to compete for every ball for every minute of a game,” he said. “If we have that again, there is the playing talent to have a strong season once again.”

A Shortened But Successful League Season

After winning five of its first seven games, Windward and the rest of the Gold Coast teams were forced to play a five-game season because of the wildfires that plagued Southern California in January.

It meant that the Wildcats would only play each team in the league a single time.

Still, for Coach Thomas, the goal was clear.

“As defending GCL champions, we would love for our hard work and dedication to result in challenging for another league championship and a strong showing in the CIF SS playoffs,” he said.

Windward started off league play with two clean sheets, winning 6-0 at home against Archer, and 1-0 on the road against archrival Campbell Hall.

At that point, Coach Thomas declared, “We have always had the talent to create chances and score goals. But six shutouts in eight games mark a great improvement in this area so far.”

There was more to come.

Senior captain Kennedy Richard leads Windward in scoring this season with 14 goals.

Despite losing Neiman to a concussion for the remainder of the regular season midway through their game against Viewpoint, the Wildcats emerged with a 3-2 victory on Senior Night. They followed with a 3-1 win at Crossroads, led by goals by senior captain Kennedy Richard, setting up a league title showdown on the road with undefeated Brentwood.

The game was tied, 0-0, through the first 80-plus minutes thanks to several tremendous saves by Windward goalkeeper Tabby Green (’25).

Then, with everything on the line, Windward junior Lexi Gelbard broke the deadlock with just under seven minutes remaining, rising up above the Brentwood defense to bury a screaming header off a corner kick by senior captain Olivia Jarry.

“When I saw the ball coming, I was really determined to get it in the goal,” said Gelbard. “It felt great to see the ball go into the back of the net and hear everyone cheering around me. I’m happy that I was able to contribute to the team’s success.”

Just like that, a second straight Gold Coast title was in the books.

Next up: Windward starts the CIF playoffs on February 12th.