Madison Thacker is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chaparral High School for AZPreps365.com.

Leading with laughter and their bold loudness, Chaparral senior captains Lauren Carlson and Delaney Penn have created a team culture built like no other. They've yet to lose a state game in their high school careers.

Carlson and Penn made the varsity soccer squad as freshmen, making them the youngest on the team that first year.

“It’s scary. There were all these girls that I looked up to and they were really good at soccer,” said Carlson. “It’s a really welcoming environment I’ve always felt that way. It’s not about what age you are or what year, it’s about trying to pull whatever weight you have.”

For Penn, her freshman year was about learning from senior Gina Leete, who took Penn under her wing that first season and showed her what a leader does.

“She brought me into the team and made me feel comfortable,” said Penn. “From then on I made sure I was that Gina and tried to help girls feel comfortable.”

Each year, Chaparral seniors leave behind new techniques for the next generation of leaders. Nobody knows just how intimidating it is to be the youngest members trying to define their roles better than Carlson and Penn.

“We’ve just tried to make a mental count of all the things the seniors before us did,” said Carlson. “Over the years as each of us gained confidence, it helped us to make everybody else feel the same way and feel comfortable because it is hard being a freshman on the team and an underclassman. We’ve learned over the years that our team chemistry is what wins us state championships.”

Due to COVID-19 protocols, the girls carpool to games, giving them a chance to bond away from the entire team. Penn and Carlson make it a point to travel with different teammates each time.

They also invite their teammates to carpool for their usual after-practice smoothie trips.

“The first time I clicked with anybody on the team was in Lauren’s car. It was our first smoothie trip and from there it was really easy to click,” said sophomore forward Sami Fisher.

Penn and Carlson encourage the girls to pair up with a different teammate every practice. But not before games, as the team is “slightly superstitious."

At home games, Penn and Carlson hype their team up with a pregame playlist and their special walk-out songs ending with a team cheer before taking the field. In doing so, they have created a loud, cheerful environment to build their confidence on the field.

For the Firebirds, it is essentially an unwritten rule for the bench to be screaming on the sidelines.

“We have the loudest bench,” said Penn. “It pushes us and helps us, even though people probably think it’s annoying, but it motivates me when I hear them screaming my name from the sidelines.”

“Building confidence is key,” said senior defender Lainey Gomez.

After difficult practices, Penn and Carlson check in with their teammates to lift their spirits by making them laugh.

“If they’re having an off day, we just try to pick them back up,” said Carlson. “Last practice I was really struggling with shooting and we were just laughing it off and knowing that we are going to get it down next practice.”

Carlson and Penn have created an open environment for their team to talk about anything, leaving no room for problems to slide by them.

“We are a bunch of goofballs,” said Penn. “We’re just like a family so it’s really easy to make them laugh if something is going wrong. It’s what our team does best.”

“The culture on the team is unlike anything, you won’t see on any other team,” said Fisher. “Everybody is really close and it’s just a fun environment.”