The only adversary who has been able to beat perennial high school girls soccer powerhouse Dimond is its longtime rival, South Anchorage. Last season, the Wolverines handed the Lynx their first defeat in over two years and repeated the impressive feat in the 2023 state finals.
In the first matchup of the 2024 season between the two Wednesday afternoon at the Dome, South was able to emerge victorious yet again thanks in large part to the combined efforts of junior Faith Hughes and freshman Shayla Lee.
The Wolverines came away with a hard-fought 3-2 victory courtesy of a late free kick by Lee that was set up by a foul Hughes drew in a collision with a Lynx player while going for the ball.
“It feels really good to come back after our great state win last season and beat them again,” Hughes said. “The team is coming together really nicely. We have a lot of new incoming freshmen and they put in a really good shift this game.”
This was Lee’s first time being part of the rivalry after watching it play out for years. She was excited to help her team come out on top.
“I was really nervous because it was just 2-2, and it was the winning goal,” Lee said. “Faith did a great job and that goal was for her.”
It also marked her second straight game scoring a goal. Her first came against Service this past Saturday.
“It feels really good, and I think we’re going to have a great season,” Lee said.
In addition to drawing the foul to set up the winning goal, Hughes also scored the second goal of the game for the Wolverines in the first half, breaking a 1-1 tie in the process.
“It felt really good to score that goal,” she said. “I’ve been really wanting to play the high school season and get back in the groove of things.”
Hughes was admittedly a little nervous when Lee went out for the penalty try but remained confident that she “had it in the bag.”
“I knew that we were going to get a goal out of it,” she said. “It’s a really big confidence boost and I think the team is going to move and push forward.”