The boys varsity soccer team has had a streak of improvement this season. They started out with a 0-0 tie against the Jesuit Rangers on Jan. 9, then dominated their tournament the following week.
In the beginning of the first half of the Jan. 9 game against the Rangers, there was a lot of back and forth between the players. There were some close calls, but neither team scored.
Senior defender Obi Nwosu describes the growing tension when either team got close to scoring a goal.
“The moments when we almost score but don’t are painful because in close games like those, scoring opportunities are scarce,” Nwosu said.
Senior right back Brant Williams ran the ball far for the team and whenever the ball got too close to the home side, he was able to defend it. When it came to scoring, Williams described how he could’ve gone for a more offensive approach.
“Going forward and attacking [is what I should have done],” Williams said. “I didn’t do anything to help the attack.”
As the game continued, the cold started to get to some players but most were able to stay focused.
“The cold was intimidating when we started warmups but the extremely physical and competitive nature of the match allowed us to stay warm and on our toes,” Nwosu said.
The second half was a bit more promising with a free kick for the Scots, but no goal was made and the score remained 0-0.
Towards the end of the game, the pace of all the players picked up as they grew restless to score a goal, however the final whistle was blown before any points were scored.
Head coach Scott Turner emphasized the team’s plans of improvement following this early season game.
“[The players] already have great communication and chemistry, so it’s all just about applying them to the game,” Turner said. “That’s what practices are for.”
Overall, the team played well against the equally strong Jesuit players. For the following games, it was a matter of striking first.
“I believe improvement will come during our team practices, as Coach Turner incorporates our weaknesses from the games into our training sessions, as well as honing our strengths,” Nwosu said.
To follow up upon their game with Jesuit, the boys went on to play at a tournament in Wichita Falls.
They were all ready with anticipation to do well at their tournament since their previous game wasn’t as successful as they hoped.
Senior Paul Micheal Healy wanted to start the tournament off with a good streak after the tie with Jesuit.
The tournament lasted two days, Jan. 11 and Jan. 12, for a total of three games against three different teams.
After going against all the teams, the Scots were undefeated and beat the other teams by a large margin.
“I think I played very well, I assisted and attacked well,” Healy said. “I think as a team we played really well too and we beat all the teams by four [points] or more.”
Overall, there was a large improvement from the team since their game against Jesuit, and despite the challenges, they still managed to give it their all and win all their games.
“The second game I was thinking I wanted to go home because I was exhausted but I was also excited by how good we are playing,” Healy said.
