Winning the first game of the season 9-0 and 7-1, Boys Soccer faced off against the Merrillville Pirates on Aug. 16th. They started off the season strong with a win against Merrillville, showing off the hard work they put in all summer. The team practiced throughout the entire summer to prepare for the season.
Having high morale, the JV team started strong with defense ensuring no opposing goals were scored. The offense dominated and kept the ball on Merrillville’s side of the field. Evan Crowley (10) helped throughout the game with various corner kicks and his work on offense.
“I feel like some of us could have done better but we all did good as a team, “ said Crowley (10).
By the end of halftime, JV were dominating 7-0. The continuation of the second half was no match for the opposing team as the boys won 9-0.
“Since we were able to have a lot of possession we were able to send the ball back a lot. In the future we are hoping to build out of the back more and that depends how the other team lines up their defense. We will actually be working on that more, ” said Mr. Graves ,Math,.
The main event of the night, Varsity approached the center field for their names to be called for the line-up. Within the first 5 minutes of the game, Charlie Newton (12)headed the first goal leading to a good start. Multiple corner kicks were made by Craig Rusin (12).
“[We prepare with] A lot of competition between us. Each of us are really competitive between each other and we challenge each other every day to do better. That’s how we get better every day. We just have that mentality every game that it is a state championship game, ” said Newton (12).
Kicking in the fourth goal, halftime began with the team 4-0 against the pirates. Skills such as communication and shooting goals were discussed with Mr. Rainwater ,CTE,. Defenses held up as the team made sure to communicate, not allowing the pirates to score. Unfortunately, in the last few minutes Merrillville scored a single goal but not without much retaliation. With hardwork and determination, the Varsity team won 7-1.
“I’m really optimistic about this year. I think it’s a really good team with really good success. We have a very difficult schedule so keep morale up when you’re playing. It’s a tremendous journey for them. I think if we keep them positive in their low moments and keep their teammates up I think they will be very successful,” said Mr. Rainwater
.
