Freshmen Start of the Right Foot; JV2 Up Next - Important Reminder!

The Freshman soccer team had the honor of kicking off the season on Thursday evening, and they turned in a masterful performance combining team defense and opportunistic offense, beating the Marauder Girls' Varsity 1-0. Oddsmakers had installed the Girls' Varsity as favorites. They are, after all, defending State Champions. They have not last since, well, since the last time they played the Freshmen. But this year's version of the frosh nine excellent players peeled off the top of the depth chart and assigned to other teams; three on Varsity, five on JV1, and one on JV2. The latter, Henry Werner, poppod up on the Freshman sidelins as an assistant coach, and did a comendable job. When the match began, the Varsity had an edge in play, but the Freshmen were organized defensively, and gave nothing away. Forsh goalkeeper Christian Blix was tested a few times, and had one outstanding save, and the half ended nil-nil. Playing with incresed confidence, the Freshmen were able to counterattack effentively, and fifteen minutes after play had resumed, they struck for the only goal of the game. A long, high ball was played into the Varsity penalty area, and was allowed to bounce around. A bevy of freshmen converged aggressively, and Sam Calderwood relying on his unerring nose for the goal, bundled the ball in for a 1-0 lead. The Girls attacked with rigor for the rest of the match, but goalkeeper Iver Skogerboe and center back Sam Loescher slammed the door with repeated good plays. Skogerboe come off his line well, covered rebounds with cat-likle reflexes, and managed his distribution with precision. Loeascher channeled his inner man-child, making repeated tackles and clearences with both feet, and heading the ball out of danger repeatedly. Loescher also had several blocks, including an accidental one of a hard shot registering 80-plus on the radar gun. Did you know that those hand-held thermometers also have a radar feature? The match marked the debut for Freshman Head Coach Jason Hirschhorn, who did a masterful job organizing and motivating his troops. He commented: "On the field, our defense was top notch. Sam L, Davey, and Paul anchored the center and were all but impenetrable. On the outside, Joseph, George, Blake, and Liam never let up despite the speed and nimbleness of the opposing strikers. Shayan, Jack, Trevor, and Wyatt ran up and down and left and right (we'll hopefully do a bit less of that in the future!) to ensure we didn't lose the center of the field, and Freddie, Dustin, Aidan, and Nick began offensives pushes and defenses stops on the wings. Upfront, Veer, Sam C, Patrick, Aaron, and Kaleb never let up; their constant pressure was a large reason we were able to sneak a goal in. A number of players mentioned their desire to improve their endurance, decision-making with the ball, positioning, first touch, and two-footedness. It was clear tonight that those are all areas for improvement for us AND that we have a group of smart players committed to leaving it all on the field. I very much look forward to the practices and games ahead." Next up on the schedule will be Ian "Bucket" Caldwell's JV2 squad, who host the Varsity team from nearby Newport. Their match kicks off at 5:30 on the Merriman-Branch turf. Hey! Important notice: JV2 players must pick up their allotment of two yellow wrist bands from Coach Caldwell during the day at his office at the HHS Main Entrance. Parents of the players will need one of these bracelets in order to watch the game. There will be time prior to the game for players to run up to the stands to hand these off. We are also looking for a volunteer to run the clock for the game. It can be a JV2 parent or a Varsity player. Training will be provided. Please contact Coach Grabill aboout this. Varsity and JV1 players will collect their wrist bands Friday at practice. No spectators are allowed at Saturday's games without a wrist band. We are alredy looking ahead to Tuesday's Varsity game at Fall Mountain. There will be a bus, but we will need a number of parents to drive. Please be in touch with Coach Grabill with the following information: bus rider or parent driven? (Oh, bracve new world!)