Q&A with 2017-2018 varsity soccer captains: Ruby Colby, Jenna Marks and Caitlin Mosch

By Ella Frey, News & Features Editor|December 15, 2017

Photo credit: Amelia Mathis

The varsity soccer team poses for a selfie after a practice. The team is working on becoming more cohesive players on the field.

Earlier this year, Kim Smith — coach of the varsity soccer team — climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to participate in a record setting soccer game to fight for female equality. Now, the varsity soccer team is embracing a motto used by the players on the mountain,  “We can. We will,” to conquer their own winter season. 

The Oracle sat down with captains Ruby Colby ’19, Jenna Marks ’19 and Caitlin Mosch ’18 learn more about the varsity soccer team’s goals for this year.

How is the season going so far?

Jenna Marks [JM]: [The season] has been going pretty well so far. We have really bonded as a team, [and] we are connecting passes really well. I am very excited to see how we end up.

Ruby Colby [RC]: So far, the season is going pretty well. We have not had a whole lot of time to practice with [winter] break, people being out and the fires. So that is having a pretty big impact on us. Honestly, the team is coming out strong this year, and our roster is really solid.

Caitlin Mosch [CM]: We started off really strong against Crossroads. We did not win, but we did have our best game against Crossroads ever in Archer history. We really played well together as a team. It showed the potential that we have and [that] there is room for us to grow. I think it is a matter of us getting to play together as a team rather than individuals. I think we have a lot of potential and a lot of really good players.

What are you working on as a team this season?

RC: Our biggest thing right now is working on gelling as a team and learning how to play with each other. We got a fair bit of field players added to the team.

CM: Connecting the ball to one another and being patient — [when you] have the ball, but also when you are defending. [It’s important to make] sure you are playing [with your] feet and not just kicking it. It is just about taking your time and really thinking it through before you do anything. I also think really working together as a team [is important]…I think once we become more cohesive, we will be really strong.

How does it feel to be a captain this year? 

JM: I am very excited. It is a big role to be taking on this much leadership, especially filling the shoes of Liadan Solomon [’17] and Rachel Pike [’17] last year. I am excited to help lead our team to, hopefully, the CIF championship.

RC: It is really weird. I think with having one senior on the team, it was kind of expected that the two other captains would be juniors. But I really was not expecting it to be me, considering all of the juniors on the team are such amazing leaders. No one really knew what was going to happen. I am loving it, and the team is really great. I also like writing the emails.

CM: It is a little bit different than last year. Last year, I was also a captain, but I had [Solomon and Pike] to guide me through — as they were the seniors. I always went to them for advice, and they always handled the bigger things. Now that there is only one senior and two juniors [as captains], [the lower classmen] look up to me more, and it can sometimes be hard to make those [large] decisions. I no longer have someone to look up to, but it is still really nice to know I have [Colby and Marks] with me. It is a hard responsibility, but it is worth it when you are with these girls because they are so amazing. I love playing with every single one of them.

Do you have a team motto? If so, what does it mean to you?

RC: Our theme this year is, “We can. We will.” It is build off of last year’s “Stronger Together “[theme] — so it [means] we are going to do this, and we can do this. When Kim Smith presented it to us, she put a picture of Kilimanjaro on the screen, and it said, “We can. We will.” I think it means we can reach the top, and we will reach the top.