Boys’ Soccer Shines at College Showcase in Connecticut

This past Sunday, Big Red boys’ soccer defeated the Buckingham Browne and Nichols’ (BB&N) varsity squad 1-0. Although the team was not able to score more goals than its previous game against St. Paul’s, it brought home another victory.Senior and co-captain Ted Hart scored the sole goal, off of upper Matt Asante’s assist. Postgraduate and center back Liam Mckersie said that the team has been improving its performance and organization steadily. He noted that the game against BB&N showed the effort and time the team put in the past few weeks.“It was the most disciplined we have been from the start to the end of the game,” Mckersie said.Senior and left-midfielder Max Rerkpattanapipat echoed McKersie’s sentiments and added that the team was able to create numerous chances, which led the team to its victory.“It was a competitive game throughout but again we generated a lot of opportunities on goal,” Rerkpattanapipat said. “And when you create as many chances as we did one is bound to go in and that's exactly what happened on Sunday. Great finish from Ted and awesome team effort all around.”Senior and co-captain Sterling Weatherbie agreed that the team is gaining more confidence with each game, but said that there’s still a lot of room for improvement in its performance.“We could have moved the ball quicker. We could have gotten the ball wider. We also had a lot of chances, and if we had the ability to seize all of them the score should have been five or six to nothing, but we’re happy with the win,” Weatherbie said.Rerkpattanapipat also added that apart from finishing off all chances in the game, the team needs to focus on winning every ball out of the air and secure possession.McKersie agreed with Rerkpattanapipat and said that maintaining a steady persistence and concentration when the ball’s in possession also needs to be revisited.Weatherbie emphasized that although there are many aspects of the game that the players need to work on, he said that the defense performed exceptionally well against BB&N.“The game against BB&N was the best game our defense has played yet,” Weatherbie said.Postgraduate and left back Liam Bradley said that the defense’s performance was enhanced not only because of the training, but also because the players carried out what the coaches have instructed them to do.Bradley said that the defense was able to achieve such a feat, because they not only trained hard, but also because they carried out the coach’s instructions with care on the field. Bradley also noted that the synchronization of the defense’s movements also contributed to the victory.“We did a better job of collectively pressing the other team and stepping as a unit,” Bradley said. “In the back, we gave each other depth and did what coach wanted us to do better, and got results.”Rerkpattanapipat said that the past two victories will act as an important impetus for the team’s performance in future games to come.“We have momentum and things are really starting to click,” he said. “It’s really exciting time for our team right now and hopefully we keep this up.”