“New year, new start,” is the attitude of the boys varsity soccer team as they lace up their cleats and head onto the field. With a current record of 13-4, the varsity boys believe their season has started well.
“I think we’ve done really well,” senior Andres Arreola said. “This was a really good preseason for us, best in a couple of years, and I think we can keep that momentum going into league.”
Senior Lucas Garcia also shared his opinions on the new soccer season.
“I feel like our season’s going to be really good,” Garcia said. “We’ve been winning a lot of games, and I think the team’s working really well together.”
As of Monday, Jan. 26, they maintain a California rank of 39 and a national rank of 163, according to Max Preps. Currently, they are in second place in their league, which is what allows the varsity team to think positively about their future games and championships.
“This season, I look forward to just going far within the CIF, and hopefully winning the championship,” senior Aaron Flores said.
Senior Aiden Alfaro also stated his anticipation for championships and CIF.
“This season, I’m looking forward to coming out as league champs, and hopefully CIF champs,” Alfaro said.
Members of the team said they feel that there are many things that go into making them a good team, and one of the main things is hard work and dedication.
“It starts on the field as having good practice together and giving it our best,” Flores said. “Then off the field, just having good team camaraderie and giving it our all, always.”
Senior Israel Perez said he believes that communication is important for the team to do well.
“Communication is a big thing, practicing; the chemistry has to be strong for the games,” Perez said.
While the team values working hard on the field to ensure their success as a whole, they also believe that to make their team work their best, they must all become close with one another.
“We just try to make the team a family,” senior Christian Rizo said. “We just support each other as much as we can.”
Arreola said he also believes that they work their best because of their closeness.
“I feel like this team has a really strong bond together,” Arreola said. “We all know each other, we’re all friends with each other, and that’s really the main thing that brings us together as a team.”
Aside from working together to make their team great, they also work hard individually.
“As one of the captains, I make sure that my team is always working hard, that we’re in this thing together, and we’re all focused on one goal, and then just a good balance of working hard and staying serious, but also having fun at the same time,” Flores said.
Other players also said they communicate with their teammates to give their full effort.
“Personally, I just try to give my full effort out on the field, give them my all, communicate with my teammates when we’re out there, and just try my best,” Garcia said.
Perez said he also chooses to communicate with his teammates. As goalkeeper, he claims to communicate mostly with his defenders to ‘keep everything in order.”
Currently, the boys varsity team continues to hold their heads up high with hopes of reaching CIF championships and winning their league.
Despite the team’s positive outlook on their progress, the team has dealt with a recent tragedy. At the start of the new semester on January 5, fellow teammate Keagan Hennesay passed away after a battle with cancer. To honor and remember Hennesay, the team honored him at the home game against Etiwanda on Jan. 15.
