Women’s soccer played in the America East championship game for the first time in the program’s history.

Senior midfielder Brooke Jenkins played a crucial role in this achievement.

In the Oct. 26 quarterfinal game against University at Albany, Jenkins scored the winning goal, which prevented the game from going into overtime, according to UVM athletics.

“Both teams were starting to get tired. Instead of taking my foot off the gas, I tried to get forward and be ambitious,” Jenkins said. “I was really lucky and I scored a goal”.

The team then qualified for the semifinal game Oct. 29 against Binghamton University. For the second time, Jenkins scored the winning goal during the last eight minutes of the game, according to UVM athletics.

“Having to wait until the end of the game, we had to be pretty calm and relaxed. Luckily, we kept pressing and ended up getting that late goal,” Jenkins said.

Despite her individual contribution, Jenkins gives credit to her teammates.

“The game was a testament to the experience we have on the team and not getting too worked up about things if we’re not scoring or not getting too many chances,” she said.  

After winning the game against Binghamton, UVM played the championship game at Stony Brook University where their 2-1 loss ended their streak, according to UVM athletics.

It took the team a while to settle in, but during the second half UVM had a better response to how Stony Brook was playing, Jenkins said.

“I was thankful to be there and obviously happy we made it to the finals, but I wasn’t content with that and the rest of the team wasn’t either,” she said.

UVM women’s soccer closed the season with nine wins, nine losses and two ties, according to UVM athletics.

“[The Stony Brook game] was a good experience for the team and we are going to use the experience from that game going forward,” Jenkins said.

When looking back on the season, Jenkins said there are things she’d change in regards to her performance as a captain of the team.

As a captain, her goal is to always get the best performance out of every player. Knowing how to be a good leader takes a lot of practice and this is an aspect where she wants to improve for next season, she said.

Head coach Kristi Lefebvre talked about Jenkins’ leadership skills in a Sept. 2 Cynic interview.

“Brooke is able to talk to the team and is able to get them energized,” Lefebvre said in the interview.

This season Jenkins has won numerous honors, including the TD Bank Student Athlete of the Week and being named to the America East all-tournament team, according to UVM athletics.

“The individual awards are great but ultimately, I wouldn’t have been successful if it wasn’t for the team working hard. I happened to be the one that was in the situation to finish the goals during the games, but it’s a result of the entire team effort,” Jenkins said.

When looking towards the future, Jenkins expressed her love for soccer and how she could not imagine not having the sport be a part of her life in some capacity.

“I’ve always loved soccer and it would be a dream come true if I could play professionally,” she said.