By Ben Jacoby
The boys soccer is halfway through their season. There are four teams competing at the the varsity, junior varsity, eighth grade and seventh grade levels. The varsity team is deep into their season already, having competed in two tournaments along with five league games.
“ The preseason tournaments were great preparation for the regular season. They allowed us to try different things and formations and do some bonding as a
team which was very good,” Program Head and Varsity Head Coach Kris Ward said.
Ward said that the tournaments gave him a great opportunity to assess his team’s strengths and weaknesses and what he needed to do in practice to make the team as good as possible.
“Our roster is extremely talented this year, more talented than it has been in recent years. I’d like the amount of work the team does to match their expectations. That would make us successful. Our strengths are that we are talented and have a deep bench and our weakness is that we haven’t fully realized our potential yet,”Ward said.
The players said that they feel if they work as a unit and believe, they can beat any team they play against.
“We can beat any team we want, but it’s our mentality that determines the outcome “ varsity forward Langston Holly ‘20 said.
The varsity squad last game was against Crespi on Wednesday, but results were unavailable at the time. On Friday, they will St. Francis High School.
The junior varsity team has had an impressive start of the season with a 3-0 league record. Players said they are happy with their start and feel that if they keep up playing at the level they are right now, other teams will be no match for their skillset.
“ We are a very good team, but we do need to work on communication. If we can do that then I think we will be a very good team,” forward Henry Gibson ‘20 said.
The junior varsity squad also competed in the West High Tournament on Dec. 2nd, where they lost both of their games. Even though they did not win, players said that the West High Tournament was great practice and allowed them to really find their groove as a team.
 
So far, the eighth grade team has only played in three games this year, and has a 2-1 record. The same team won the championship last year in seventh grade, and said that they feel that it is possible for them to do it again but they just need to find their zone and stay locked in.
“We are playing fine right now, but we can definitely play better. We need to work on our offense and make a few little adjustments. Then we will win,” defenseman Jake Grossman ‘22 said.
The seventh grade team is 0-0-1 this year and tied 2-2 against Viewpoint. The team said they are not happy with their outcome but feel that there is a lot of potential if they play well.
“I think we are playing well so far, but we definitely need to work on our midfield positioning and our conditioning. If we can do those two things well, then I think we can be a much better team,” midfielder Manuel Markman ‘23 said.