Even after 10 years of playing soccer, sisters senior Olivia Ollmert and freshman Sofia Ollmert have never been on the same team, until now. The sisters joined forces  on South’s Varsity Girls’ Soccer team. 

Olivia and Sofia both began playing soccer when they were five-years-old. Now, years later, Olivia is committed to play DI soccer at the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC) while Sofia became one of only two freshmen to score herself a spot on this year’s varsity team. 

When the 2024 soccer season began, both sisters thought that they might have a shot playing on the same team. That thought became reality, however, Sofia had a different way of giving her sister the news. Sofia played a prank on Olivia the day the teams were released, saying that she didn’t make the team. 

“I tried my hardest to keep myself from crying,” Olivia said. “With tears in my eyes, I opened the door to the varsity room and my sister popped out. I was so happy she made the team but so mad that I was pranked, so my immediate reaction was to start crying, although [they were] definitely happy tears.”

Once the girls found out they would have a chance to play on the same team this year they were excited, as soccer served as a bonding tool, Stacy said. 

“For them to come together [and] be on the same team is super exciting, especially because both girls play different positions,” Stacy said. 

With different positions comes different skill sets that the sisters bring to the team, Cassidy Price, Varsity Girls’ Soccer Head Coach said. Olivia brings great communication and physicality to the field, while Sofia brings great technical abilities during in-game situations, Price said. 

“It is always a fun dynamic to have siblings on a team [because] they are always willing to mess with each other and push each other extra hard,” Price said. “They both have great energy and are always smiling on and off the field, [which is] the kind of energy you want from your players.”

As Olivia will head to UIC in the fall, she is happy to be closing her high school soccer career with her sister who is like her built-in bestfriend, she said.

“My sister and I are best friends, so being on the same team and playing together is very exciting,” Olivia said. “Being able to play together before I go off to college is something I will cherish forever.”