They did it again. Benjamin’s middle school girl’s soccer team captured its sixth consecutive league title, capping a sixth consecutive undefeated season. That’s right, your Bucs are 78-0 over the past six years, a feat unlike any other in the history of TBS athletics.

The team did it by beating a tough Rosarian squad 2-0 on Thursday, February 4 at Palm Beach Day Academy. Seventh grader Emma Shirzad scored both goals, the first one coming in the last few seconds of the first half, the culmination of the Bucs’ relentless offensive pressure. It was a satisfying score after several frustrating near misses.

“I think everyone felt a bit more pressured than the other games,” admitted Shirzad. “We would normally be up around three or four to nothing by [the end of the] first half, and yet we were only up by 1. We worked super hard and luckily pulled it out in the end, but none of us wanted to be responsible for our team losing its streak.”

Shirzad also netted the insurance goal early in the second half, but, much like they tended to do all season, the players emphasized teamwork as the key to their success. “This year’s team is strong,” said eighth-grade midfielder Regan Kretz. “Our team is full of strong athletes who really want to work hard, and win all the time, and keep the streak up.”

Eighth-grade co-captain Tatiana Ziff also credited Head Coach Mrs. Denise Ponchock with keeping the team focused. “Mrs. Ponchock helped us succeed in soccer by believing in us as a team and teaching us how to work together,” said Ziff. “She pushed us to be better, and supported us always.”

However, the always-humble Ponchock disagreed. “No, it’s not me that keeps the girls going. The girls do that themselves with teamwork and communication. All I do is motivate them from the sidelines,” explained Ponchock, who is undefeated in her six-years at the helm.

When asked about the six-year winning streak, Ponchock explained it’s a perfect marriage of coaching and all-out effort by the players. “ I think it’s

great to have won that many times,” she said. “The girls keep trying and I keep coaching, and they just go together to make wins. The girls are out there everyday trying their hardest.” Ponchock also noted that in all her years of coaching, she has only gone one game without putting everyone on the field. So this year she put 22 players on the field at different points in each of the 12 contests.

The girls reached the title match after pummeling St. Mark’s 8-0 in the semifinals. Shirzad recorded a hat trick in that game while eighth grader Chloe Jezerinac netted two goals, and classmates Caroline Charles, Caroline Moody, and Alexia Letsche each tallied one. That game marked the fourth time this year the Bucs had “mercied” an opponent, meaning the match was stopped after the eighth goal since the league mandates that any match must end once a team has an eight-goal lead.

It was just another illustration of the team’s dominance. When it comes to girls’ middle school soccer, there seems to be Benjamin and then everyone else. These girls are just on a different level. But can the girls coming up behind keep the streak alive?

“I think that the upcoming seventh and eighth graders have the fire and excitement that it takes to be successful,” said Ponchock, “but they need to be sure to work as a team on the field. All of the girls who come out are ready to be winners, and in order to achieve that, they have to operate together.”