Imagine working hard at something for months, more often than not in frigid temperatures. The end goal is to be prepared for a run to states, but your reward ends up being the sight of your opponent celebrating a berth in the next round. All you can do is mourn for the end of your season.

The Robinson Lady Knights soccer team doesn’t have to imagine that situation. They’ve lived it. Some of them have lived it three times, three years in a row.

Robinson’s 2012-2013 season ended with a 1-0 overtime loss to Palmetto in the regional quarterfinals. A year later, they fell to Largo in the regional semifinals, with the game ending in penalty kicks. Last year, they suffered the same fate to the same team.

“It just sucks. There’s really no simpler or easier way to describe it other than that,” captain Megan Bohan (’16) said. “Once you get to penalty kicks, it’s already proven that both teams are equally good. It’s just a sucky feeling to know that you were just as good, if not better, than the other team. It really could go either way.”

Last year’s season-ending loss was 51 weeks ago, almost to the day, but the feeling of heartbreak still sticks.

“Last year was much more difficult [for me],” captain and goalkeeper MacKenzie Johnson (’16) said. “I felt like I was the one who let my team down. It was incredibly heartbreaking because I didn’t make my penalty kick and I didn’t make any saves.”

In that game, the Lady Knights held a 1-0 lead at halftime. Largo tied it up in the second half before both teams headed to overtime, eliciting an “oh, not again” feeling from those who had been on the team the previous two years.

“It really is amazing that it seems to happen the same way every year,” Bohan said. “Of course I think about the previous year when it happens again, but I try not to think about the ‘oh no’ part, more like an ‘okay, this time’ kind of way.”

For a group that has faced so much adversity in the last few years, the outlook heading into this year’s postseason is one of determination.

“I think having a common goal, working hard and staying mentally sharp will help us this postseason,” Johnson said.

The Lady Knights will start their road to redemption on Friday night when Jefferson comes in for the 3A-9 district semifinal matchup. The game will get underway at 8:00 p.m.