With a large intake of new freshman players, the boys soccer team had to account for the loss of two seniors from last season. Head Coach John Mohrbacher, as well as the assistant coaches, have experience of training an almost entirely new team from last season and have already had even more success than last year.
The team had various practices over the summer to teach the new players their formations and drills, as well as refresh the minds of veteran players. Toward the end of summer, they also had a week dedicated to bettering their teamwork and soccer abilities. They evolved their teamwork not only by playing soccer, but by participating in fun activities as well. These included charades, team trust falls and even a karaoke competition, with the junior players winning.
Starting off with a scrimmage, the boys played against Hopewell, but fell to them with a score of 3-1. They started their first real match with an exhibition game at Indiana Area High School on Aug. 23, but unfortunately lost with a score of 4-2.The next day, they had their second match against DuBois Area High School, but they also lost with a score of 3-0. They played their final exhibition game on Aug. 29 against Riverside Area High School. Jordan Delon (12) scored a goal, along with one from Anthony Rychorcewicz (11), and two from Jaylen Mohrbacher (11). They ended the game with a win, with a final score of 4-0.
On Sept. 5, they played their first conference match against Neshannock Area High School, and this was their highest scoring game yet. Team Captain Delon scored two goals, Brodie Falk (12) scored his first goal of the season and Nicholas Fessler (9) not only scored his first goal of the section, but a hat-trick as well, meaning that he scored three goals.
“Our team chemistry is great. We’ve just known each other for so long and that’s pretty much the key,” Fessler said. “My skills are being used correctly.”
Starting the section off strong, the boys played their next match on Sept. 10 at Sewickley Academy. Fessler scored twice, along with Mohrbacher and Delon each scoring once. They ended the game with a score of 4-1.
“The togetherness has been unreal this season,” Mohrbacher said. “Everyone gets along really well on and off the pitch and it’s really shown.”
After starting their win streak, they played at Beaver County Christian School on Sept. 12. Rychorcewicz scored a goal during the second half, but the game went into overtime. Fessler managed to score the game-winning goal for the team, ending in a score of 2-1.
Continuing their streak, they played against South Side High School on Sept. 17. Delon scored a first-half hat-trick, scoring three goals in the first half and another goal in the second half. Fessler scored two goals, Mohrbacher had four assists, and Falk had one assist. They had a near one-sided victory concluding the game with a score of 6-1.
Playing against the Eden Christian Academy Warriors, the team knew it was going to be their strongest match-up yet, because both teams were tied for first place in the section. The boys played with effort, hopeful to emerge with a win. The Warriors scored in the first half of the game, but Freedom was not able to answer with a goal. Delon scored a goal in the final seconds of the game, but it did not count because the referees called a penalty, ending the game with a loss of 1-0.
While their first few matches were looking unhopeful for the team, they were able to use their skills from practices to bring it all together. Starting the section off with a record of 4-1, and an overall record of 5-3, this season seems to have a good outlook for the Bulldogs.