The Severna Park High School girls’ soccer team is a pretty superstitious bunch.
Every morning on game days, the Falcons gather at the nearby Chick-fil-A for breakfast.
“Chick-fil-A may seem like a very unhealthy meal for game day,” senior captain Emerson Scott acknowledged. “But it’s a superstition. You can’t not have Chick-fil-A. And it’s gotten to the point where, you know, the grease flows in our veins now.”
The rituals extend far beyond a savory meal to start the day. The Falcons get on the bus in the same order every time. They play the same songs when they get off the bus and the same songs after the games.
If there are not enough sour gummy worms to go around, they cut them into pieces to make sure everyone that needs one gets a piece.
Some of these traditions have been passed down through the years.
“I think it’s just a testament to how much this means to us,” said Ava Scott, Emerson’s twin sister and a fellow captain. “We will do everything in our power on the field and everything in our power off the field.”
The Falcons are known to knock on wood or some acceptable substitution for it, such as a knee or side of the head. Do they really believe they are doomed if one of these rituals is not fulfilled? No. But they are not ones to leave anything to chance.
“I don’t think the world will end if I say that we are going to win the game,” Ava Scott said. “But I just don’t want to chance it. Because what if the world does end, right?”
The most taboo thing anyone on the Severna Park team could do is talk about a future outcome. That’s why you won’t hear any of the players or coaches talking about winning a third consecutive Class 3A state championship.
The thought may cross their minds, but no one dares to say it aloud.
“It’s a fresh group and a new challenge every year,” head coach Rick Stimpson said. “So, no, we don’t talk about past seasons, past successes, past failures. We’re just focused on this year and our goals for the season, which, hopefully, will be pushing toward that state championship. But we try not to look too far ahead.”
Severna Park lost some key pieces to graduation from its championship teams of the last two seasons, including All-American midfielder Abby Cover, who is now at UNC Greensboro.
But the Falcons also return some key players from those squads, including the Scott twins, senior striker Maria Bragg, who has committed to the University of Florida to play lacrosse, and junior midfielder Izzy Burleson, who is now a three-year varsity player.
Stimpson really likes the team’s overall depth, with sophomore forward Molly Koistinen and freshmen Carlee Scott and Emma Dooley already making an impact on the field for the Falcons.
And while all the superstitions have no actual bearing on the game results, they draw the players closer together and provide a shared experience. That could pay dividends on the field through a strengthened team bond.
“I mean, of course, it takes some getting used to because some of the things are a little strange. But it’s really fun,” senior midfielder Bella Mazzola said. “There are a lot of fun things to look forward to instead of just getting into the locker room and getting on the bus and playing the game.”
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy