Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A trio of Callaway girls soccer players (Becca Bryan, Sophia Flores and Bianka Sola) have been honored with GACA All-State honors. It was a first-time honor for all three Cavaliers.

“It’s a huge honor for what they have accomplished,” Callaway assistant coach Jeff McGuffin said. “Yes, it looks great for our program, but it also shows how much work they’ve put in and how they battled the whole year to end in that position. We started the season with one girl who was on the preseason first-team All-State team, and that was Sophia. So to finish the year with three, that’s a pretty big deal.”

Bryan transferred into Callaway from Lafayette Christian School before the school year and quickly adapted to life as a Cavalier. It did not take Bryan long to earn a starting spot in the midfield.

“We put her in the midfield to start the season and just took off from there,” McGuffin said. “The sky is the limit for her growth.”

While others may score more goals than her, Bryan is the glue that holds the team together. Her ability to control the ball and ping passes around the field is what makes McGuffin and the rest of the Callaway coaching staff excited about her bright future with the team.

“The kicker with Becca is that she has always played center back with her club team, but you could see the vision that she possesses is second to none, and we felt she would be best in the midfield,” McGuffin said. “When she decided to come to Callaway to play soccer, it was a blessing.”

Bryan scored 11 goals on the season and was tied for the team lead with 11 assists. 

It is no surprise to see Flores on this list as she made a colossal jump from her freshman year to her sophomore season. Flores proved to be even sharper in front of the goal while becoming a more unselfish player.

“You can see it in her assist total this season,” McGuffin said. “We’ve really worked with her on when to take a shot and when to make a pass.”

Flores led the Cavaliers with 28 goals and was tied for the team lead in assists with 11.

“With Sophia being so young, you kind of worried that she would let being a preseason All-State selection go to her head. And we’ve seen it happen before with some kids that were preseason All-State selections,” McGuffin said. “That wasn’t the case with Sophia; she came in and put the work in.”

The Cavaliers use Flores in the midfield and the forward lines, but the rising junior can play just about anywhere on a soccer field. 

Flores was also named the 2A state player of the year by DiVarsity. 

The partnership that Bryan and Flores have formed in the middle of the field will be crucial for the Cavaliers heading into next season.

It was truly a remarkable season for Sola. The Callaway graduate went from having never played soccer before her senior season to a true standout any time she walked onto the field.

“She helped us out in so many ways,” McGuffin said. “She instantly came in right away and was a leader for the team, and we made her a captain despite this being her first year. Bianka pushed the whole team to be better.” 

Sola finished the season as the Cavaliers’ second-leading goal scorer with 20 goals while also chipping in nine assists. What made Sola so important to the team was her ability to perform in the clutch. She finished the year with a team-leading seven game-winning goals.

“She had a game-winning goal on her birthday in a 1-0 win at Mary Persons,” McGuffin said. “She’s the type of player that is unafraid of the big moment.”