Prior to the re-opening of Daytona State College for spring semester 2025, the women’s soccer team won a major victory against Arizona Western College, earning the title of Women’s Soccer National Champions. This victory, 2-1 in overtime, gave DSC a title not won before.
Coach Clark has been leading the women’s soccer team for five years, guiding them into the high ranks since 2023. Coach Clark places strong importance on her focus on team culture and environment, putting mindset before skillset. “We have our saying and our core values that we focus on living by daily,” she said.
She then described one, “Our biggest one is Be Great.” There is more than meets the eye, the word “great: splitting into an acronym; Gratitude, Resilience, Effort, Attitude and Togetherness.
Resilience and Effort on the field are readily displayed by these ladies, considering the final game against Arizona Western was won 2-1 in overtime. As told by the NJCAA, “The championship match, played in Wichita, KS, began with a fast-paced start as Sienna Gillespie opened the scoring in the 5th minute, giving the Falcons an early lead.” Arizona Western’s first goal didn’t happen until 27 minutes later, leading the game into overtime after a scoreless second half.
During that tense time, the opposition shot 20 separate times, ten of them being saved by Falcon goalkeeper, Julianna Trujillo (named Most Valuable Player in the match), only one making it past her. This determination and effort shown by our team is a great example of the resilience the Falcons exhibit.
The hard work has not ceased since, with the five-week long winter break serving as time to train, suiting up for the upcoming championship season this coming fall. Sophia Varga, sophomore center-back for the women’s soccer team reflected on this, “There are really no seasons off, once you think about it,” continuing, “When I’m off on my own I get more motivation to do the work.”
Varga added another notion, “Our (the team’s) bond off the field is also what drove us on the field”, then she continued “we all had the same vision.”
The beginning of the team’s closeness started well before the national championship game and this upcoming preparatory season. However, Coach Hope Clark brings to the forefront the importance of individuality in collaboration, “I think so many women are scared to shine their own light for the fear of people not supporting them, for seeming cocky, seeming self-serving,” she continues, “…when they shine their light, everyone’s light gets brighter.”
This starts, in her words, with self-discipline, “They have to have so much self-discipline, personal sacrifice and personal responsibility because it is their journey. When it’s their personal journey, what they do is what they bring back to the program.”
The women’s soccer team is a very clear example of female excellence in sports, being ‘GREAT’ in every aspect of the saying. The upcoming spring season holds a lot of excitement, with our falcons competing against four Division I teams and three Division II teams in both the NCAA and NJCAA. Given their success in the past few seasons, pride and anticipation continue to rise as the women’s soccer team pushes for even greater horizons.