Boys

Despite ending the season with a loss to St. John’s College High School in the quarterfinals of the DCSAA playoffs, the Tigers ended their season with a DCIAA championship and a stellar record.

In 2024, the Tigers were dumped out of the DCIAA playoffs by Bell in the semifinals, the first time they would miss the City Championship game since 2019, and they were taken down in state playoffs by St. Albans, losing 8-0 in a brutal end to the campaign. Between that disappointment and the fact that several crucial seniors departed the team, it could have been easy to write off the Tigers’ 2025 season. 

The start of the season didn’t do much to calm the Tigers’ nerves, since the squad was battered by St. John’s, 5-0. However, a 1-0 victory over Maret would help to build momentum going into the DCIAA season, with the Tigers’ conference schedule beginning against the team that toppled their DCIAA championship push the previous year, Bell. Two goals inside the first dozen minutes would be enough for a Tigers’ victory, and the game was a great tone setter for the DCIAA season. 

One of the year’s highlights occurred on September 19th, when the Tigers took on St. Albans, looking to avoid embarrassment at their hands for a second year in a row. In the first half, a long throw by Senior Defender Liam Miller would fall for Senior Striker Charlie Hall in the box, who put it in the net to give the Tigers the lead. In the final minutes, the team played all-out defense, in a strategy that proved useful, as the Tigers hung on for a statement win.

Following the victory over St. Albans, the Tigers would continue their DCIAA winning streak with a 1-0 win over the reigning DCIAA champions, Coolidge, as well as wins over School Without Walls and Roosevelt, and another good non-conference win against Sidwell. Both during this run and throughout the season, the Tigers would be characterized by their defense. Following their blowout defeat to St. John’s, the Tigers would only concede four more goals through the middle of October, one less than the amount they conceded that day. It was a backline built off of experience, with seniors Alex Anagnostopoulos, Edilson Cano, and Miller forming a near impenetrable force in front of goal, capped off with another senior, Jonah Beers, being one of the city’s best shot-stoppers as the Tiger’s goalkeeper. “After the St. John’s game, coach told us we needed to make up for the five goals we conceded,” said Beers. “I think we lived by that, and we kept trying to be the best we could.”

The Tigers regular season would end with a frustrating 4-2 loss to Washington International School (WIS), but it would do little to disturb the side’s momentum going into the postseason. The team flew by Roosevelt and Walls in the DCIAA playoffs, beating the sides 6-0 and 4-0 respectively, with a level of potency that hadn’t been seen in their attack all season. This run set up a city championship match against Bell, a rematch of the DCIAA semifinal which saw the Tigers early exit the previous year, and a rematch of the 2023 city championship, which the Tigers won on penalties. On a cold and rainy night, the conditions would neutralize the momentum they had built, and after 80 minutes of frustration and missed chances, regulation ended 0-0, setting up extra time. Bell nearly stole the game in extra time after a failed clearance, but Beers would make a massive save to keep the game level and send it to penalties.

The Tigers kicked first in the shootout, but each of the first three completed penalties for the Tigers. Bell responded with successful conversions of their own. However, after Charlie Hall’s low drive into the bottom left corner to continue the Tigers perfect record from the spot, Bell’s Hector Angeles shot a weak effort that Beers would stop, giving the Tigers the advantage, and setting up Miller to win the championship for JR. He did just that, and Jackson-Reed would win their first city title since 2023. “When I put the ball down, I looked at the keeper, and he looked so small compared to the goal,” said Miller. “I knew just where I was going to put it.”

For 2025, DCSAA employed a soccer ranking system based almost entirely off of teams’ records as opposed to a win-based rank, meaning the Tigers’ undefeated DCIAA run and their impressive non-conference wins, gave them the number one ranking. This system disadvantaged St. John’s, whose performances in the WCAC and generally harder schedule put them as the 9th seed, forcing them to play one extra game, before putting them up against JR in the quarterfinals. 

After a ball forward was failed to be cleared by the Cadets’ keeper, Hall put the Tigers on top just minutes into the game. The Tigers led at the break, but St. John’s responded with a goal early in the second half. Just as it seemed like the Tigers would face a second straight game that went to extra time, a giveaway would set up a Cadets counterattack that saw a cross played into the box, where it was fired into the back of the net to eliminate the Tigers with under a minute remaining. 

Despite the season ending in disappointment, the development of the team and the memories they shared are what most team members will take away from the 2025 season. “We gave everything we had until the last few minutes,” said junior captain Paxton Sand. “We all grew together, and I’d say it was a very good season for the community of JR Soccer.” •

Girls

The girls’ varsity soccer team has remained a powerhouse in the DCIAA league, winning the championships after working hard to build their team chemistry this year. The Tigers ended the regular season with an overall record of 15-4-1 and a league record of 6-0 continuing to develop their legacy as a dominant team. 

On October 29, the girls’ varsity soccer team beat School Without Walls 2-1 to win the DCIAA championship.This was the second year in a row that the girls’ won the championship under head coach Kelle Bevine, who moved up from JV coach last year. Bevine described this as one of her highlights of the season: “lifting that trophy as 2025 DCIAA champions.”

The new players to the team played a major role in the championship victory. Both of the goals on the Tigers’ side were scored by fresh faces, junior Emilia Betancourt, and sophomore, Jojo Gavin.  The one goal on the opponent’s side was a penalty kick. 

The team beat Walls during the regular season 1-0, a foreshadowing of what was to come later in the city championship. In preparation for the DCIAA title game,  Bevine said she made adjustments so the team’s “play and lineup would not be predictable” which helped them secure the win. 

Senior Rylee Jarmen said she was proud of how the team “gave their all to win the title.” She added that everyone “played for the person next to [them],” and the overall game was a reflection of the hard work they put into the season.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, the season didn’t end on the same high note. In the quarterfinals of the DCSAA playoffs, they lost to Georgetown Visitation, 4-0. Visi pressed into the Tigers’ half for much of the game, scoring two goals in each half. 

With eight seniors graduating in 2025, this team needed to rebuild their chemistry this year. Only seven players returned, and there were eleven newcomers on varsity. 

The Tigers were led by five seniors, including four veterans: co–captain and midfielder Sonora Hale, co-captain and center back Alex Cohen, co-captain and goalkeeper Maddie Landis, and midfielder Annika Russell. The fifth senior, defensive Rylee Jarman, transferred from St. John’s College High School. 

Two standout players were Hale and Landis. Hale had 13 goals and 12 assists and was named the 2025 DCIAA player of the year. Landis had a total of 29 saves throughout the season.

Overall, Bevine said that continuity from last year was strong, saying, “if it’s not broke don’t fix it.” So, team culture and cohesion were a strong focus “from day one.” 

Many of the seniors will miss this chemistry next year. Russell said she will “miss the girls that she has met” the most since “some of them have become some of my closest friends, and at the end of the day they always have my back, which is hard to find.”

Landis, who played on the team all four years at JR, said she would miss “being able to play the sport I love with my best friends” and that the program has brought her “some of my happiest memories both on and off the field.”

Hale said her major goal as a captain was to make sure all players felt comfortable and welcome so they could be their most authentic selves. Junior left back Grey Fischer said it was “sad to see the seniors go, especially with [this] game being their last.”

Sophomore Gavin agreed, saying that “all my teammates, especially the seniors and captains, supported me to make me feel as confident and comfortable as possible when on the field.” 

Bevine emphasized this, saying she was grateful to the senior captains, who “did an outstanding job this year helping me lead the team.”

The loss in the DCSAA quarterfinals was not how the team wanted to end the season. But the returning Tigers said they are excited to come back next season better than ever, focusing on a speedier and more dynamic play. •