With fewer than 20 seconds remaining in the game, the Wareham Girls Varsity Soccer team was leading Seekonk by a score of 2-1 and headed for their first win in what had, in only a few weeks, already been a very frustrating season due to injuries.

Then Seekonk was awarded a penalty kick on a controversial call by the referee. Seekonk tied the game.

“After that point, the team decided that they weren’t going to let anybody else determine whether they were going to win or lose,” said Coach Cindy Sylvia.

The season changed. And not only did the players bond on the field, they bonded together as friends as well.

“They are a special group on the field, they are a special group in the [school] building, they are a special group all together as a unit,” said Coach Sylvia. “They’ve bonded collectively like no other team I’ve coached.”

The captains organized a team dinner at senior Kayana Jones' house, and loaded up on carbs and camaraderie. They defeated Case the next day.

And they didn’t just bond on the field. The team had sleepovers, they tie-dyed t-shirts for the school’s Spirit Day, and they had “homework practice” one rainy day in October where Coach Sylvia called up their grades and the girls helped tutor each other.

And the parents get into it too. Barbara Thomas, mother of senior goalie Felicia, and Laurie Martins, mother of junior midfielder Tara DiGiantomaso, patrol the sidelines with digital cameras and upload good shots to Facebook for the girls to share. Cupcakes and food seem to appear frequently after games from one parent or another.

But all things must end. And things were bittersweet after the season ended on Thursday.

The girls laughed when asked their record – two wins, nine losses, and five ties.

“We had a rough beginning,” said senior Taylor Sullivan. “We really started working with each other as a team part way through the season, and think we had a really successful season overall.”

Especially sad was that eight members of the varsity team, and three players on junior varsity, were seniors.

And while many of the players will be teammates in another sport this year, almost all said that they were soccer players foremost in their minds.

“It’s the number one sport in terms of passion for me,” said Kira Correia.

“It’s sad, but it hasn’t really hit me yet,” said Marley Harunk. “When we don’t have practice tomorrow, or a game, that’ll be tough.”

As for the final game, the girls tied Fairhaven. Down 2-1, they scored with just a couple minutes left in the season.