As the boys’ soccer season comes to a close, players reminisce about the season. Many seniors might miss playing the sport or miss the bond between them and their teammates. Others may be looking forward to the next chapters of their lives, and possibly playing higher levels of soccer, like the college level.

Underclassmen may miss the seniors they made friends with and not be able to play soccer until next year, or look forward to what’s to come next season. Others may feel relief from being less busy or excited for other sports to begin.

The boys’ most recent win as of was Oct. 8, which was also senior night. They beat South Side 5-1, with Anthony Rychorcewicz (12) and Nicholas Fessler (10) scoring two goals, and Jalen Mohrbacher (12) scoring one goal. At the beginning of the game, it seemed like a stalemate, with both sides unable to score.

That was until the first goal was scored, leading to a domino effect with four more goals following. Troy Reynolds (11) stopped the Rams from scoring by seizing the barrage of kicks into the Bulldogs’ goal.

With around five minutes left in the game, all of the seniors playing stepped down and let the underclassmen fill the seniors’ shoes by finishing off the game. After the game was over, the seniors took fun pictures with each other and their underclassman friends.

So far this year, the boys have lost seven games, but they tied one and won two. This record isn’t the end, so coaches and players have been working hard behind the scenes to improve.

Some things that the boys did to refine their game were to be more aggressive during plays and make sure they held the ball for longer. The boys also strove to balance their skills as to not be too aggressive.

“I think we can hold the ball for too long sometimes,” Cory Heckman (12) said.

At the beginning of the season, the boys went to soccer camp to work on basic skills, such as how to dribble and pass the ball to others, and team bonding activities like trust falls and theme days. They had practice after school every day to try to advance their skills and better their teamwork.

In later games, the boys’ objectives were to work together more smoothly and improve their communication skills on the field. They also workedon being more aggressive while they play and balancing to not be too aggressive.

Over half of the team was composed of seniors: Cory Heckman, Michael Bugay, Boden Hilliard, Timothy McKelvey,  Bryan Monroy-Hernandez, and captains Mohrbacher and Rychorcewicz.

“There’s plenty of good that came with the season, and it does suck seeing things come to an end, but I can proudly say I was a part of something special with some incredible gentlemen,” Mohrbacher said.

This leaves the few underclassmen left to step into their roles and prepare for what’s to come next year. This may be the end of the season and the end of their soccer careers for some seniors, but that doesn’t mean all the hard work, practice and friendships made along the way are over.